Hamas released the last remaining Israeli hostages from Gaza yesterday, while Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian prisoners. On the same day, US President Donald Trump addressed the Israeli parliament, declaring that peace had come to the Holy Land, and later signed a document last night with representatives of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
All 20 remaining Israeli hostages have been freed after more than two years of captivity in Gaza. The freed hostages were first handed over to the Red Cross and then, with the help of the Israeli military, returned to their families. Even before their release, Hamas had allowed some of them to make video calls with their loved ones in the morning.
"I'm so excited. I'm so happy. It's hard to describe how I feel right now. I haven't slept all night," Vicki Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, told Reuters as she traveled to Reim Base, the Israeli military camp where the hostages were being held after their release.
The moving footage was broadcast on Israeli television and shown to around 65.000 people gathered in front of large screens in "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, as well as millions of others who watched the broadcast from their homes.
But while the hosts and guests in the studio kept repeating the good news, it was impossible not to notice the different scenes. As Red Cross buses and vehicles passed through the Gaza Strip on a mission to return the hostages, scenes of destruction were shown - the ruins of cities where people once lived. The Civil Protection Agency in Gaza estimates that the bodies of about 10.000 people are trapped under the rubble and collapsed buildings.
Palestinians also rushed to embrace prisoners freed by Israel yesterday. Several thousand people gathered in and around Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza - some waving Palestinian flags, while others carried photos of their relatives.
"I am happy for our sons who have been freed, but we still feel pain for all those who were killed during the foreign occupation and for the destruction that has befallen our Gaza," Gaza resident Um Ahmed said, through tears, in a voicemail to Reuters.
The freed prisoners arrived by bus; some posed through the windows with two fingers up in victory. The appearance of armed, masked Hamas fighters on the scene underscored the difficulty of meeting Israel's demand that they disarm.
Israel is to release 1.700 detainees it has been holding in Gaza, as well as 250 prisoners convicted or suspected of security violations, including attacks on Israelis.
"The hostage struggle and the catastrophe in Gaza are two sides of the same war coin. They will remain so in the days to come. But in time, it is likely that more and more attention will be focused on Gaza - its reconstruction and the truth that lies beneath all that layer of rubble," writes Roy Schwartz, a journalist and one of the editors of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in a column for The Guardian.
He says the overture to this began yesterday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where a leaders’ summit on Gaza was taking place. That meeting, and those that will inevitably follow (since a “day after” plan can hardly be resolved in one day), was supposed to set a timeline for a new international governing body and security forces that would effectively take control of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas to maintain order?
Already over the weekend, reports emerged that a much-weakened Hamas was trying to reassert its rule in Gaza, killing dozens of people in clashes with groups that tested its control – and, it seems, with tacit approval from the US to temporarily carry out a police role in the devastated enclave.
Trump's plan calls for Hamas to be removed from power in a demilitarized Gaza, which would be run by a Palestinian committee under international supervision. The plan also calls for the deployment of an international stabilization mission to train and support Palestinian police forces, Reuters recalls.
However, Trump, speaking on a trip to the Middle East, indicated that Hamas had been granted temporary authorization to police Gaza.
“They want to stop the problems, they were open about it, and we gave them approval for a certain period of time,” he said, responding to a reporter’s question about reports that Hamas is shooting at its rivals and establishing itself as a police force.
Trump arrived in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh about an hour before sunset last night for a gathering of more than 20 world leaders, which he was scheduled to co-chair with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Large billboards with smiling faces of Trump and Sisi and the words “welcome to the land of peace” lined the route from the airport to the convention center. In his remarks after landing, Trump thanked Sisi for his role as a mediator, and the Egyptian leader said that “the two-state solution is the only way to realize the aspirations of the Palestinians and Israelis and to live in peace.”
Erdogan prevents Netanyahu from arriving
Earlier yesterday, Egypt first announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also been invited to the summit. “Given that Netanyahu has been reluctant to end the war from the beginning - no matter the cost - this decision seemed like an attempt to tie him to a ‘day after’ scenario for both Israel and Gaza,” Schwartz said, adding that unlike the first phase, which brought the hostages home, the second phase does not bring any tangible gains to Israel. “It is all about rebuilding Gaza. Given that many Israelis considered the end of the war a price worth paying to get the hostages back, the question is: will he seek a return to the battlefield once all Israelis are safely home?”
However, just an hour later - after Israeli media were already celebrating Netanyahu's departure - his office announced that he had declined the invitation due to the start of a religious holiday in Israel.
The Guardian reported that Trump had to abandon his plan to invite Netanyahu to a summit in Egypt at the last minute, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not land in Sharm el-Sheikh if the invitation remained in effect.
It is not clear whether Erdogan's refusal to land for the summit was the reason Netanyahu changed his plans, but it is known that while flying over Egypt, he spoke with Sisi to express his objections.
Schwartz notes that whatever Netanyahu’s real reason, the gist may remain the same: this summit, which Donald Trump organized in coordination with world leaders, is a way to send a message to Israel that Gaza is no longer under his exclusive control. “The war is over,” as Trump keeps saying, “and now others will take the lead. Of course, any initiative in Gaza will still have to work closely with the Israeli government. But the question is whether it will be a joint effort or a matter of direct orders — similar to the way Trump forced Israel to accept the deal to end the war.”
The summit, which Donald Trump organized in coordination with world leaders, is a way to send a message to Israel that Gaza is no longer under its sole control. The war is over - as Trump constantly repeats - and now others will take the lead.
In an address to the Israeli parliament, Trump said: “Israel, with our help, has achieved everything it could by force of arms - you have won. Now it is time to translate those victories over terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate reward - peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”
However, many issues remain unresolved. Among the most urgent to be addressed are the recovery of the remains of 26 more Israeli hostages believed to have been killed, as well as two whose fate is unknown. Hamas says it could take time to find the bodies because not all burial sites are known. Humanitarian aid must also be urgently delivered to the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing starvation. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has stressed the need to “provide shelter and fuel to people in desperate need, and to massively increase the amount of food, medicine and other supplies that are arriving.”
For Israelis, Trump is the leader, not Netanyahu
Certain issues became apparent during the early celebrations Saturday night in Hostage Square, where, beneath the expressions of happiness and relief, deeper truths emerged, Schwartz said. The most striking moment of the evening came when Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, attempted to praise Netanyahu for his role in brokering the deal. The crowd — far more familiar with his failures — greeted it with loud boos. Every time his name was mentioned, the audience booed. The rhythm of chants of “Thank you, Trump” only emphasized who Israelis see as their true savior.
“This may be the most important revelation: in the eyes of the public, the Israeli government - or at least the one that represents its interests - does not sit in Jerusalem, but in Washington,” writes Schwartz. “But even if that is currently true, Trump - as he has shown countless times - is like a child who quickly tires of old toys. At some point, he will probably abandon the Middle East and redirect his attention elsewhere: to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine (after all, there is still time to chase the peace prize next year), to the fight against immigration, or to the war he has declared on American democracy itself. When that moment comes, the world will face a new great test. Trump may have ended the war, but who will be responsible for the much more difficult task of maintaining the peace?” concludes the Israeli journalist.
Cigars and a little champagne - who cares?
Trump called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, during an address to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem yesterday. During the speech, which lasted more than an hour, Trump said:
“Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President, why don’t you give him a pardon? Cigars and some champagne - who the hell cares?” he said, alluding to charges of fraud, bribery and abuse of office, which Netanyahu denies.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases, one of which involved receiving nearly 700.000 shekels ($210.000) in gifts from businessmen, including champagne and cigars.
The President of Israel has a largely ceremonial role, but possesses the authority to pardon convicted criminals if exceptional circumstances are established.
However, a verdict has yet to be reached in Netanyahu's trial, which began in 2020 and has been frequently interrupted during two years of war and turmoil in the Middle East. He has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
Trump called in June for Netanyahu's trial to be thrown out. Netanyahu has portrayed his legal troubles as a witch hunt, which he claims is being led by the left to topple the elected right-wing leader.
Bonus video:
