News of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas was met with scenes of celebration and jubilation in both Gaza and Israel, but residents on both sides of the devastating war expressed fears that the deal could still fall apart.
US President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh that negotiators had reached an agreement, saying Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire framework.
Trump said the plan includes the release of all hostages held by Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to agreed lines.
Qatari officials later said the agreement “leads to an end to the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners of war, and the entry of aid.”
However, important issues remain unclear, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the future governance of Gaza, and what security measures are in place to prevent a recurrence of hostilities.
Jubilant crowds gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square to celebrate the agreement, with many expressing joy that hostages held by Hamas might finally be able to return home.
Former hostages released as part of an earlier cease-fire agreement and families of those still held captive joined the crowd, hugging, singing and raising glasses.
Einav Zangaukar’s son Matan Zangaukar, who remains in Hamas custody, joined the energetic crowd on Thursday morning. She appeared overwhelmed and joined in a chant that translated into English as “We’re bringing Matan back.”
“Our hearts are filled with joy. We don’t even know how to suppress this feeling,” Tel Aviv resident Hillel Mayer told CNN from the square.
Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the deal, cautiously hoping it would bring an end to Israel’s devastating offensive on the besieged enclave, which now lies in ruins. Crowds gathered near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and celebrated, clapping and cheering in the pre-dawn darkness.
“I’m so happy that I feel like I can fly,” Beit Hanoun resident Ali Aref Abu Uda told CNN.
He said he hopes the nightmare he and his loved ones have been living is finally over.
“The war will stop, the suffering and the nightmare of displacement will end. But now we don’t know what we will do. There is no home, no school, no university, there is nothing left,” he said.
But the Israeli military stressed the precarious nature of such agreements and said it had instructed its soldiers to “prepare for all scenarios.” The military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichai Adley also warned Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to return north or approach areas where Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are stationed.
While the celebrations were underway, journalists in Gaza told CNN that Israeli shelling continued, particularly in Gaza City.
Abu Mohammad Abu Yassin, a native of Jabalya in northern Gaza, told CNN he had no plans to return home yet.
“There used to be an armistice and we were hopeful, but then the war started again and people died. I am one of the people affected by it. My son was nine years old and was sitting on the street when a piece of shrapnel hit his eye and he lost his eye,” he said.
Abu Yassin said he is concerned about what will happen next. “After the armistice, we will feel the effects of the war. We are now preoccupied with how to feed our children. Once the armistice comes, everything will be provided, but then we will remember and suffer from the psychological suffering of the war.”
Hostage families happy but cautiously optimistic
In Israel, families of hostages held in Gaza and previously released hostages celebrated news of the agreement, with many personally thanking President Trump.
“I can’t believe it,” freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami said in an Instagram video.
“You’re coming home,” said Lilan Berman, whose twin brothers Gali and Ziv were abducted from the Kfar Azha kibbutz in southern Israel and are still being held in Gaza. “My Gali and Jibi love you very much.”
The twins were last seen alive by witnesses in February, when the last hostage release took place during an uneasy ceasefire that later collapsed when Israel resumed shelling of Gaza.
A video released by the Hostage Families Forum showed President Trump on the phone with hostage families and survivors of captivity in Washington, telling them their loved ones would be back on Monday.
Some groups were clearly emotional and could be heard shouting “thank you” and cheering.
The agreement was announced a day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed at least 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. Hamas and its allies still hold 48 hostages in the Gaza Strip, including some whose bodies have been held since 2014. The Israeli government believes at least 20 of them are still alive.
The joy of the long-awaited return of the hostages and their emotional reunion has been tempered to some extent by a strong sense of anxiety due to lingering distrust and previous false hopes.
“We remain hopeful, but we also stand firm on reality. War is a kingdom of uncertainty, and we know that nothing will be concluded until we see it with our own eyes,” Moshe Rabi, whose brother-in-law Omri Milan is still being held in Gaza, told CNN.
“You won’t believe it until you see it with Omri’s own eyes,” he added.
“Inwardly we are happy, really, the joy is deep, but we have to be realistic,” former Israeli hostage Elijah Cohen said in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, according to Reuters.
“Until they get into a Red Cross vehicle and actually meet the IDF soldiers, we must continue to pray until that moment.”
The agreement was announced early in the morning in Gaza. Journalists in the Gaza Strip told CNN there was little internet connectivity in the besieged area and many residents were still unaware of the deal.
Before the sun rose in Gaza City, the girl told journalists that she was very happy about the deal because it would allow her to go home. “We have spent two years and now we are starting the third year of living in a war. We are so tired of this life,” the girl said in a video obtained by CNN.
Footage obtained by Reuters showed a small but jubilant crowd gathered in Khan Yunis, singing, dancing and cheering.
Wael Radwan, a resident of Khan Younis, credited President Trump with the deal and thanked “those who contributed, even verbally, to stop the war and stop the bloodshed.”
Another resident, Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo, said “everyone in Gaza is happy” about the announcement. “All Arab people, the whole world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of the bloodshed,” he said, according to Reuters.
Israel’s war has caused widespread destruction across Gaza, with the enclave experiencing increasing death and starvation.
More than 67,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed so far, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Wednesday, as Palestinians struggle to survive under relentless bombing, mass displacement and widespread disease.
In September, an independent United Nations investigation concluded for the first time that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a finding that is consistent with the findings of other genocide experts and human rights groups, but categorically rejected by the Israeli government.
With previous agreements shattered, there will be growing alarm and tension among many Gazans, who fear that any ceasefire agreement reached will not lead to a permanent end to the war. President Trump’s social media announcements did not mention some of the thornier topics that need to be resolved, including the disarmament of Hamas and the enclave’s future governance.
Following the announcement of the deal, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Government Media Office (GMO) warned Palestinians to “exercise extreme caution in movement and travel” and “remain vigilant until an official, clear and confirmed announcement is received from the competent Palestinian Authority.”
