Palestinians in Gaza filled the streets Thursday in celebration after news broke that Hamas and Israel had reached an agreement to end Israel’s two-year assault on the besieged enclave. The announcement, confirmed by President Donald Trump on social media, was met with jubilation and relief—but also deep skepticism after years of failed truces and continued violence.
President Trump wrote Wednesday night that “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.” He added that “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed-upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” concluding, “All Parties will be treated fairly!”
Calling the agreement “a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America,” Trump thanked the mediators from “Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen.” His post ended with, “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a ceasefire would take effect later in the day “once the government convenes and approves the deal.” Netanyahu also wrote in Hebrew that it was “a great day for Israel” and that he would “convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home.”
While leaders exchanged statements, the reaction in Gaza was visceral. “People were screaming in the streets, because after two years of bombings and destruction and loss, finally they will sign the ceasefire [deal],” said Laila Al Shana, a project manager for the Palestinian grassroots aid group Humans To Be in Gaza. “I hope they can maintain this deal.”
Tareq Abu Azzoum, a reporter for Al Jazeera in az-Zawayda, central Gaza, described scenes of both celebration and apprehension. “There was an undeniable collective sense of relief seen here in Gaza,” he said, reporting that “People were celebrating, and there were very obvious scenes of jubilation across Gaza for families who took to the streets, cheering, waving Palestinian flags, and even launching fireworks.” Yet, he added, “beneath that surface jubilation, there is a relative sense of skepticism, especially as families are quite afraid that Israel could resume the war in Gaza under one security pretext or another.”
That fear was quickly reinforced when reports surfaced of new strikes after the deal’s announcement. According to Drop Site News, Gaza’s Civil Defense reported “a series of intense air strikes” on Gaza City and explosions across northern Gaza at 9:30 am local time. Journalist Hani Mahmoud said there were “a couple of attacks in Khan Younis,” though he added there was “cautious hope” in Gaza that “the truce may hold this time, despite Israel’s pattern of last-minute actions aimed at derailing agreements.”
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese expressed similar cautious optimism. She noted that Israel had broken a previous ceasefire in March and reiterated that “Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid in Palestine” must be “dismantled.”
On the diplomatic side, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas leader, told Drop Site News that “This is a risk, but we trusted President Trump to be the guarantor of all the commitments made.” Hamas negotiators described facing “unprecedented pressure from Arab and Islamic mediators over the past 48 hours to make significant concessions and to quickly reach an agreement on the aspects of Trump’s plan that address the exchange of captives, a ceasefire, and the resumption of aid.”
Policy analyst Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy emphasized that pressure alone was not what brought about the truce. “It wasn’t pressure on Hamas that got the ceasefire, they’ve obviously been under intense pressure all along,” he said. “The key variable here was pressure on Netanyahu.”
The tentative ceasefire follows a two-year campaign in which Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed over 67,000 Palestinians, including more than 18,000 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Ninety percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and at least 39,000 children have been left without one or both parents. Aid agencies say famine has already been declared in parts of Gaza, with more than 461 people dying of malnutrition and starvation since the war began.
For many aid groups, the immediate priority is gaining access. “We need sustained humanitarian supplies to enter. We need, as a humanitarian community, access to communities, to children. We need to be able to do our jobs, we need safe and dignified distributions,” said Rachel Cummings, the humanitarian director of Save the Children in Deir el-Balah. “Organizations like Save the Children and obviously the [United Nations] and its partners, we know how to prevent famine. We know how to treat malnutrition, and we need these sustained supplies to enter to be able to do them.”
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, echoed that readiness, writing on X: “After their excruciating ordeal, hostages and Palestinian detainees will finally join their families.” He added, “We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months. Our teams in Gaza are crucial for the implementation of this agreement, including to provide basic services like healthcare and education.”
The deal’s parameters reportedly include a partial Israeli troop withdrawal “to an agreed-upon line,” the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid. But several details remain unsettled, including the exact border line for the withdrawal and the timing of aid convoys entering the enclave.
Despite the announcement of the truce, humanitarian observers have warned that the peace remains fragile. “From our side, yes,” a Hamas official told journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News, confirming that the group agreed to the first phase while “finaliz[ing] some points” with mediators. Another source told Scahill, “It’s over, it’s over. It’s been decided. Everybody’s agreed on it. There are a few things that will be discussed, but it’s over.”
Across Gaza, the hope of an end to the violence was tempered by memories of broken ceasefires and ongoing airstrikes. “A journalist just asked me: Did you imagine that we would reach this moment? Did you think we would reach the stage of a ceasefire?” said James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson who has been documenting the suffering of Gaza’s children. “My reflections were that I never thought we would reach a point where 20,000 girls and boys would be killed.”
After years of devastation and deprivation, the prospect of peace—however uncertain—has brought a fleeting sense of relief. But for Gaza’s families and aid workers, true peace will depend not only on the cessation of airstrikes, but on whether food, medicine, and rebuilding supplies finally reach the people who have endured two years of what the United Nations has called “unspeakable suffering.”
COMMENTS