On Monday, Donald Trump declared that the war in Gaza was over, as a ceasefire agreement was cemented between Israel and Palestine.
Part of the agreement included the release of 20 Israeli hostages that were taken two years ago when the war began, and Israel released 2,000 Palestinian detainees in its custody. Hamas is also required to return 28 dead bodies of hostages, but has said it hasn’t been able to locate them all.
The ceasefire also calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons and have no part in governing Gaza in the future.
While Hamas has not publicly agreed to this, its civilian police have returned to Gazan streets and Israeli soldiers still hold about half of Gazan territory. Israel has pulled some of its troops out of Gaza, but there is no set timetable for full withdrawal.
Another condition of the ceasefire is for Palestinian technocrats to run Gaza on a temporary basis, though the identities, duties, and authority of these technocrats has not been divulged.
The Palestinians who were released were placed on buses and driven to Gaza or the West Bank. A few were also sent abroad effectively being exiled.
Though many of the Palestinians who were released had been convicted decades ago, most had been detained without any charges after the war began in 2022.
In a speech to the Israeli parliament, Trump called this the golden age of Israel and the Middle East. He said that the United States is also in its golden era. He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
The ceasefire, which took effect on Friday, has been holding, but a larger negotiation for a long-term agreement between Israel and Palestine.
The Trump administration has been an ardent supporter of Israel although the president had to put some pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu throughout the conflict up to the ceasefire. Egypt and Qatar were instrumental in getting Hamas to come to the table.
Netanyahu praised Trump for his loyalty to Israel calling him, “the greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House.”
