Sunday marked a pivotal moment as both Israelis and Palestinians braced for a momentous exchange: all surviving hostages in Gaza for approximately 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. This eagerly awaited swap forms the bedrock of a newly brokered cease-fire agreement.
The Israeli government announced that the exchange was slated to commence on Monday morning local time, with preparations in place for an even earlier start.
Across both communities, a profound sense of relief mingled with elation permeated the air, reflecting the immense progress made after two devastating years of war. Adding to this fragile optimism, the open-ended truce between Israel and Hamas, meticulously brokered by the United States and Arab mediators, which began Friday at noon, appeared to be holding firm throughout the weekend.
This initial phase of the cease-fire has already seen Israeli forces withdraw to a newly established defensive line within Gaza. Thousands of displaced Palestinian residents have begun their return to Gaza City in the northern part of the territory. Furthermore, a much-needed surge in humanitarian aid—including food and medicine—is expected to flow into the besieged enclave.
Former President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday for a brief visit, departing the United States on Sunday. During his time there, he is expected to meet with families of the hostages and address the Israeli Knesset, the nation’s parliament, in Jerusalem.
Following his visit to Israel, Mr. Trump is slated to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, a stunning Red Sea resort in Egypt. There, he and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt will co-chair a summit, bringing together other Arab partners who played a crucial role in supporting the deal. While world leaders have been invited to attend, it remains uncertain whether any Israeli or Palestinian representatives will be present.
Despite the palpable excitement, analysts express concern that the cease-fire agreement remains light on specifics, leaving many critical questions unanswered. These include the crucial issues of whether Hamas will genuinely disarm and relinquish its power in Gaza, and how the territory will ultimately be governed in the wake of the prolonged conflict.
Mr. Trump’s proposed roadmap for ending the war explicitly calls for Hamas to lay down its weapons and for Gaza to undergo a complete demilitarization.
For a long time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had steadfastly insisted on these very steps as prerequisites for concluding the war in Gaza. However, Hamas officials have consistently voiced strong reservations about both demands.
Compounding the uncertainty, it is still unclear which, if any, nations are prepared to contribute troops to the international stabilization force that Mr. Trump had envisioned for ensuring security in a postwar Gaza.
Further muddying the waters, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, issued a somewhat perplexing statement on Sunday. He declared that after the hostages’ release, the most formidable challenge facing his country would be the “destruction of all of Hamas’s terror tunnels in Gaza.”
Mr. Katz asserted that this critical mission would be executed directly by Israeli military forces, simultaneously leveraging “the international mechanism that will be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States.”
He emphasized that dismantling the tunnels would serve as the primary manifestation of Gaza’s demilitarization and the eradication of Hamas’s weaponry, adding that he had already “instructed the Israeli military to prepare to carry out the mission.”
However, Mr. Katz’s statement notably overlooked the fact that Israeli forces have now withdrawn from Gaza City. According to recent statements from Israeli leaders, much of Hamas’s military infrastructure there remains intact, describing the city as one of the militant group’s last strongholds.
Under the deliberately vague terms of the agreement, Israeli forces are explicitly prohibited from returning to areas from which they have pulled back, as long as Hamas continues to abide by the terms of the deal.