.theguardian - 14 hours ago

Thorny questions such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza are still to be answered, highlighting fragility of truceIsraelis and Palestinians celebrate as truce brings hope of ‘era of peace’Israel and Hamas moved ahead on a key first step of the tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement on Monday by freeing hostages and detainees, raising hopes that the US-brokered deal might lead to a permanent end to the devastating two-year war.But contentious issues such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza remain unresolved, highlighting the fragility of the truce.Hamas released the remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza on Monday as part of a swap deal for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees in a rare moment of joy among Israelis and Palestinians.World leaders from more than 20 countries later met in Egypt at a summit co-chaired by Donald Trump and Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to try to ensure the limited truce is extended into a durable peace.“At long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Donald Trump declared at the meeting, with his counterparts lined up behind him. The US president signed a joint declaration with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey intended to turn the ceasefire into a coherent peace plan, amid widespread anxiety over how long the truce will last. Representatives from Israel and Hamas were absent from the signing ceremony.In Israel, Trump addressed the Knesset (parliament) earlier on Monday, urging lawmakers to seize a chance for broader peace in the region and saying a “long nightmare” for both Israelis and Palestinians was over.In Tel Aviv an estimated 65,000 Israelis in “Hostages Square” cheered when a military helicopter carrying the 20 freed Israelis flew overhead en route to hospital. Live footage of their release and family reunions was broadcast at the square. The bodies of four hostages held in Gaza and handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Monday were brought back to Israel, the army said.A large crowd also massed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis on Monday to celebrate the return of nearly 1,700 Palestinians detained over the course of the war, while in the West Bank capital of Ramallah people welcomed the arrival of 88 Palestinian detainees who had been serving life sentences imposed by Israeli courts. About 160 more were deported through Egypt after their release.The UN warned that Gaza still needed “lifesaving aid”. Aid deliveries had begun arriving in Gaza and far more were poised to enter in the coming days, said the UN’s humanitarian relief branch, OCHA.The last Gaza ceasefire broke down after two months in March when Israel resumed its offensive. Trump insisted his 20-point proposal for maintaining peace and rebuilding Gaza would take root.The ceasefire appeared to be holding in Gaza on Monday after a two-year Israeli military onslaught that has killed nearly 68,000 people following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
With reporting by Julian Borger, Seham Tantesh, Daniel Boffey and AP Continue reading...

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