For the first time in 471 days, Palestinian medics in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip did not report a single death from Israeli military action on Monday, as weather fire between Hamas and Israel fixed in place. CBS News crews in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank saw more joy – or at least relief – than had been painted on residents' faces for 15 months.
The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday after an initial three-hour delay, during which nearly 20 more Palestinians were killed, according to medics in the devastated Palestinian territory.
Under the terms of the deal, which the US helped broker with Qatar and Egypt, three enemies of Israel were released by Hamas on Sunday after the fighting stopped. Just after midnight local time, 90 Palestinian prisoners were freed from an Israeli prison in the West Bank.
After more than a year of devastating war sparked by a brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, which saw militants kill around 1,200 people and kidnap 251 others, the people of Gaza heard the sound of children playing on Monday the instead of thundering fighter jets and airstrikes, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, saw in report posted on social media.
“Our teams reported the first good day of the ceasefire,” he said, adding that aid and some commercial goods had begun to flow smoothly into Gaza on Sunday. Along with the release hostages and prisoners, that is the other main part of the ceasefire agreement. At least 600 aid trucks are supposed to enter Gaza every day, carrying everything from food and medicine which is hard need to fuel for generators.
“The ceasefire must continue and all elements of the agreement must be implemented,” Lazzarini said. “It is a step in the right direction towards peace and stability throughout -time for everyone.”
Palestinians eager to return to homes that were destroyed in Gaza
The reconstruction of Gaza will be an extremely long and costly process, and is only set to begin in earnest on the third and final phase of the three-level leasewhich, assuming the agreement is still incomplete, could be several months away. However, the Hamas-run Gaza City Municipality said in report Monday that he at least started to clear the main roads, which had been closed during the war.
That will help as tens of thousands of displaced civilians move back to their towns and villages across the ocean to assess the damage to their homes. , and try to make use of whatever they can salvage from the ruins.
Hatem Khaled / REUTERS
Thousands of families have started walking or pulling carts from evacuation camps in Gaza City towards the towns and cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
They have also been returning to the southern city of Rafah, where a CBS News team spoke to a girl wearing a dress in the pattern of the Palestinian flag.
“This is the moment that all the citizens of Gaza have been waiting for,” she said. “Thank God the war has ended… It's time to celebrate after the pain to maintain. It's time to rebuild after all the destruction. The children of Gaza are drawing a new future.”
Civil Defense rescue teams have continued to recover the bodies of dozens of people killed during the war, both from under the rubble of destroyed buildings and from the streets. The Civil Defense has estimated that around 10,000 bodies may still be buried under the rubble of demolished houses in Gaza.
Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said on Monday that hospitals across the enclave had recovered the bodies of 122 people since the ceasefire went into effect on its own, including 62 drawn from debris, raising the total number of deaths in Gaza since the start of the war to 47,035. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilian casualties, but says most of those killed were civilians, including tens of thousands of women. and of children.
Happy reunions for 3 Israeli families, hope for dozens more
A Red Cross convoy driving into Gaza City on Sunday was the first sign that Hamas was holding up its end of the bargain. But the hostile draw was irregular; heavily armed Hamas fighters surrounded and climbed over the vehicles – a clear display of force and resilience after more than a year of war against Israel's vastly superior military.
But it wasn't long until the world and the desperate families back home got the first glimpse of the three women being released as they went between cars, and to freedom.
AFP/Getty
Held in terror for 15 months by Hamas, 24-year-old Romi Gonen, 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher and 28-year-old Emily Damari were finally on their way back into the eager arms of their hosts. – love The three women – including Damari, an Israeli-British national who lost two fingers during the October 7 attack when she was kidnapped – all joined their mothers as soon as they arrived in Israel.
“Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the shoe I've been dreaming of,” Damari's mother, Mandy, said in a statement released Monday. that Emily is doing much better after her release than we ever expected… In Emily's own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; her life is back.
LET'S DEFENSE ISRAEL EDUCATION/Leaflet
Even in her moment of great joy, Mandy Damari emphasized that other families were still waiting to accept the elation.
“We must also remember that there are still 94 hostages,” she said. “The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”
Hundreds of Israelis watching from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv also shared their joy on Sunday night – including some whose loved ones did not make it out of Hamas captivity – or haven't done yet.
Gil Dickmann's cousin Carmel Gat was among those kidnapped. Her body was recovered during the Israeli military campaign at the beginning of September. However, Dickmann has been a regular at the demonstrations in Hostage Square calling for the return of dozens more. He told CBS News that when he saw the women coming out of the vehicles on Sunday, he could hardly believe it.
“My God, it's them,” said he who told himself. “Everybody around the world should have this joy – of people coming home alive. It's still the happiest thing you can live through.”
Demonstrations in the West Bank as Palestinian prisoners are released
There was rejoicing and celebration in the West Bank known as Israel late Sunday night, too, because 90 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women, were released in exchange for the freed hostages.
“They treated us like animals,” said 18-year-old Rose Quis.
“I left hell, and now I'm in heaven,” said Abdelaziz Atawneh as he emerged from Israel's Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The detainees were greeted with fireworks, whistles and shouts of “God is great,” and many were lifted on the shoulders of the large crowd that had gathered outside the prison – many of whom 'waited all day for their release.
MUSSA ISSA QAWASMA/REUTERS
According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, all those released in the early hours of Monday were women or teenagers. a younger man just 15. They were imprisoned by Israel, many of them without formal charges, for alleged crimes ranging from throwing stones to attempted murder.
The next exchange of hostages for prisoners is expected to take place on Saturday under the ceasefire agreement, with four hostages released in exchange for around 120 Palestinian prisoners. In total, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in the first six-week phase of the agreement.
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