Insights on Gaza: Ceasefire and Prisoner Release

By Abby Bedard

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire hangs by a thread amid accusations that both sides have violated the agreed upon terms. Earlier last week, Hamas announced their intent to delay the hostage release scheduled for Saturday, claiming that Israel failed to deliver necessary aid, such as tents and heavy machinery and continues to carry out airstrikes across the enclave. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to restart the war in Gaza if the hostage release did not go forward as planned.         

After successful mediation talks in Cairo, the ceasefire held, allowing for the hostage-prisoner swap to go forward on Saturday morning. While the Hamas hostage release was toned-down from previous iterations, it was still a very public spectacle. The three hostages that were released, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander Trupanov and Iair Horn were lined up on stage by militants armed with automatic rifles as music played. The hostages were forced to give short speeches in Hebrew before being handed over to the Red Cross for transfer into Israel. The hostages appeared to be in better physical condition than those released last week.

After the hostages were released, Israel freed 369 Palestinians prisoners, the most released in a single day since the ceasefire began. The prisoners were dressed in sweatshirts by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), bearing a threat in Arabic, “We will not forget or forgive”.  The sweatshirts have been widely condemned, and videos have begun circulating online of Palestinians burning them upon their release.

A recently released prisoner, Mohammed el-Halabi, shared how conditions in Israeli prisons have deteriorated since the war began, stating that prisoners had become subject to routine torture and access to sufficient nutrition was drastically reduced, claiming, “Starvation happened every day, and we only had a low-quality meal once a day. I was 95kg [209 pounds] when I went to prison, and I weigh 45kg [100 pounds] now.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has once again voiced their disapproval of the way the hostage-prisoner swap was carried out, “Despite repeatedly calling for all transfers to be carried out in a dignified and private manner, more must be done by all sides, including the mediators, to improve future transfers”.

Despite Saturday’s exchange, it is unclear what lies ahead for the ceasefire agreement. The first phase of the ceasefire only has two weeks remaining, and agreements have not yet been reached for phase two, which is markedly more complicated than the first phase.  If no deal is reached on the second phase, the war could restart in early March.

Tensions have only been exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States should take over Gaza, “develop it” and resettle Palestinians elsewhere, such as Egypt and Jordan.  Leaders across the world have condemned the statements, arguing that Trump’s plan amounts to ethnic cleansing. To make matters worse, Trump announced his own deadline for the hostage deal that is not part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, demanding that all hostages be released by noon on Saturday, rather than just the three men that were originally planned. As the deadline approached, Trump posted a statement via social media, claiming, “Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!” It remains to be seen if the fragile ceasefire deal can carry the weight of this added external pressure.