Gaza Temporary Ceasefire Comes Into Effect

Facts

• The Qatari-mediated agreement between Israel and Hamas to pause hostilities for four days and exchange hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails came into effect Friday morning with no ceasefire violations reported as of Friday afternoon local time. An Egyptian official reported that at least 90 aid trucks have so far entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.¹
• Thirteen Israeli hostages — including four children and six elderly women — were delivered to the Red Cross later on Friday and transported to Israel after weeks as captives of Hamas. Additionally, a group of ten Thai nationals and a Philippine citizen were also freed outside the framework of the cease-fire deal.²
• On the Israeli side, 39 Palestinian prisoners — 24 women and 15 teenage boys — have been freed from the Ofer prison near Ramallah in the West Bank. The Israeli military reportedly fired tear gas and stun grenades at crowds waiting for their arrival after a number of Hamas flags went up.³
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a close Hamas ally, said that Israeli soldiers being held hostage would only be released in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Ziyad Nakhaleh, the group's leader, said that the exchange of all hostages and prisoners 'is linked to the end of the aggression.'³
• The BBC reported that seven Palestinians were injured in south Gaza as they tried to return to their homes in the north of the strip, having come under fire from Israeli forces. BBC's team further clarified through geolocation that this was a 'crowd fleeing south-ward along Salah al-Din road to the east of Al Mughraqa as small arms fire is heard coming from the north.'⁴
• Gaza's health ministry reports that over 14K people in the Gaza Strip have been killed, over two-thirds of which were women and children, and 33K wounded. The official Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1.2K people.⁵

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Al Jazeera, ³Sky News, ⁴BBC News and ⁵Haaretz.

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. While freeing hostages is of the utmost importance, Israel must not succumb to unfair international pressure. Hamas has a history of forcing uneven deals, and the Israeli war cabinet made the right decision by weighing its options before accepting this temporary pause. It should remain clear, however, that Israel's ultimate goal is to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem will continue to work toward this end.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Though the Israel Defense Forces have made steady progress on the ground, a tactical assault on Hamas to free the captives could lead to the deaths of many more. Israel has made a wise choice to bring its citizens home immediately through this temporary ceasefire. This will also see much-needed aid reach Gaza, where an utter humanitarian cataclysm is unfolding.

Predictions