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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ 7 hours ago

‘A day of celebration’

Palestinians are taking a deep breath from all the atrocities they have been going through for the past 470 days. And today is a day of celebration.

Thousands of Palestinians are getting ready to go to the areas that they were not supposed to go, like the eastern parts, Jabalia, the areas that have been witnessing an Israeli ground invasion, and also Rafah.

We’re talking about thousands of Palestinians currently in the central area and also in the southern area here in Khan Younis – they are getting ready to go back to Rafah.

We also saw a lot of people putting their luggage to start going back, but many know that their houses are not even there. Most of their houses are not standing any more, but most of the people said that they’re going to put their tents on top of the rubble, in their neighbourhoods. They miss their neighbourhoods; they miss whatever is left of what was there before the war in the Gaza Strip.

There are thousands of Palestinians who have been separated.

And we know that policemen are banning Palestinians from going to areas that were designated as red zones by the Israeli forces where these areas still have an Israeli presence. That’s why we see municipality workers working today. We see policemen working and after all of these months of the chaos, we’re finally going to see a little bit of organisation across the Gaza Strip.


UNRWA says 4,000 aid truckloads ready to enter Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says it has 4,000 truckloads of humanitarian assistance ready to enter the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on X, UNRWA said half of them carry food and flour.


Palestinians in Gaza share their excitement over ceasefire

Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, spoke with Palestinians in central Deir el-Balah city who shared their reaction as the ceasefire was announced.

“I’m extremely happy about this because we deserve life,” a displaced Palestinian woman from the north of Gaza told Al Jazeera.

“We have seen people torn into pieces so this ceasefire agreement is a piece of good news, and we need to thank everyone who played a role in this and who helped us to put an end to this war.”

A young Palestinian man added: “Now is our time to relax – to have that much relief, to have that much reprieve – from the incessant horrors we’ve been through. And for me personally, I just want to complete my education. There have been loads of dreams destroyed during this genocide.

“Now everyone is happy, particularly children, really happy about it. But hopefully, the Israelis will not violate it in the next few days.”

Displaced Palestinians returning to what’s left of their homes


Displaced Palestinians make their way past rubble as they attempt to return to their homes in northern Gaza


An aerial view showing displaced Palestinians returning to the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza


Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah in southern Gaza

‘My joy is beyond measure’

Our colleague Hind Khoudary has spoken to displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, about the ceasefire.

“My joy is beyond measure,” said Om Salah. “From the moment they announced the ceasefire, I quickly packed all my things because I am ready to go to Gaza City. My children are extremely happy to go and see our families, relatives and our lands,” she added.

“Here, we are always scared and worried, but back home we will be very happy, and joy will come back to our life.”

A displaced man also expressed his elation.

“We are very happy to know that we are going back to our houses and neighbourhoods and to the very precious Beit Hanoon,” he said. “We will see our families again. We don’t want wars. We don’t want destruction and death. The Palestinian people faced so much hardship. I suffer like everyone else. I need to feed my two sons.

“We need to go back to work and take care of our farms and properties. When I arrive in Beit Hanoon, I will immediately go and see my house. I will set up a tent on the rubble and debris and live there. I will go back to my family, my relatives, my neighbours and the ones I love.”


UN aid ready to move into Gaza, says agency chief

The UN’s relief chief Tom Fletcher says aid is ready to be brought into Gaza.

“We are on crossings ready to get aid convoys moving into Gaza at scale and pace. Lifesaving food and medicine for survivors. No time to lose,” he said in a post on X.



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SvennoJ 7 hours ago

‘Only way to solve conflict through ending occupation’

Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says after 15 months of war on Gaza, Israel has reached a “deadlock”.

“The Israelis can brag that they have changed the landscape of the Middle East, that they neutralised Hezbollah and ended the regime in Syria,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.

“But again, they’re stuck with Hamas. They’re stuck with Palestinian politics. They’re stuck with occupation and the legacy of occupation,” he said.

“The only way to solve this conflict is through ending occupation and negotiations,” Qarmout added. “Force does not end it.”


‘Regional instability’ if Hamas stays in power, Israeli minister says

Gideon Saar says the government is committed to its goals, including releasing the captives and dismantling Hamas’s governmental and military capabilities.

“If Hamas will stay in power, the regional instability it causes might continue,” he said at a news conference.

Saar added there would be no future peace, stability, and security for both sides if Hamas continues to govern Gaza. If the international community wants a permanent ceasefire, he said, then it must include the “dismantling” of Hamas as a military power and ruling entity in Gaza.

“Theoretically, we can achieve it by an agreement, but that will be negotiated in the future during the first phase,” he said.

Israeli leaders pledged to destroy Hamas but failed to do so in more than 15 months of the war that’s killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians – the vast majority children, women, and the elderly.


‘This will be a pivotal moment to start to rebuild’

Libre Sankara, a logistics coordinator with the aid group Glia Equal Care, says the ceasefire is not a permanent solution to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

“The only solution is for the Zionist forces to end the 17-year occupation of the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire and any celebrations should not be confused. It is mourning over the lives lost and the destruction of homes,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We need resources and aid that has been intentionally blocked and against international law, and we need to demand accountability for the genocide the Palestinian people have endured.”

Sankara said the international community needs to halt weapons deliveries to Israel and instead start sending in food and fuel to Gaza.

“People are dying from things that are easily avoidable, that the Israelis have not allowed in. We’re talking about the development of Gaza being pushed back decades because of the destruction that has taken place. This will be a pivotal moment to start to rebuild, but we need an end to the occupation and the opening of all the land crossings.”



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Returnees smiling and chanting despite finding massive destruction

You can’t imagine how happy Palestinians are, especially with the fact that they can move freely now.

I am in Rafah right now, on one of the main roads connecting Khan Younis to Rafah.

The destruction is massive. For the first time since May, when the Israeli army invaded Rafah, Palestinians have the chance to come to their houses. And they’ve come and found it shocking that their houses are reduced to rubble.

To the right of me, a man is just sitting on top of his bombed house; another family is trying to clean up and gather whatever’s left of their houses in order to bring back their relatives. They say that they’re going to clean up, remove all of the rocks, see if there are any bombs or shrapnel left, and then bring their families back.

This is the atmosphere now; everyone’s going back to their houses and neighbourhoods.

I met very young children, one of them told me, “I know my house is bombed, but I just want to see it.”

But I also met Palestinians coming back from Rafah to tell their families the fact that the destruction is massive, that they did not even realise where their neighbourhoods were and they were searching for them.

So Palestinians are now going to be very busy rebuilding, painting, and fixing whatever is left of their houses and whatever they have left.

But people are also very happy; you see everyone smiling, you see everyone chanting, and most of the Palestinians are saying, “We made it alive out of this war.”


Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah


The view from the rubble of Jabalia refugee camp

Journalist Jihad Abu Shmaleh has shared a video on Instagram, in which he is calling to prayer from atop one of the destroyed homes in Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza.

The view captured in the video, which has been verified by Al Jazeera, shows the mass destruction of Jabalia stretched as far as the eye can see.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFAMWaON28I



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Hamas expects list ‘shortly’ from Israel of 90 Palestinian prisoners to be freed

The Palestinian group has issued a statement saying it is awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of the captive-prisoner exchange on the first day of the ceasefire.

“The occupation is expected to hand over shortly a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children who are set to be released on the first day of the ceasefire,” Hamas said.

It added that the deal stipulated “the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one civilian detainee [captive]”.


Palestinian mother anticipates release of sons from Israeli prison

Hundreds of Palestinians are expected to be released from Israeli jails during the first phase of the ceasefire deal, including 95 from the notorious Ofer prison.

Mariam Owais, from the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, told Al Jazeera two of her three imprisoned sons are expected to be released. She expects to welcome one of them home, while the other could be deported. Both were serving life sentences with the prisoner swap being their only way out.

“When I first heard I was shocked. I started shaking and suddenly felt sick,” Owais said. “Those around me started asking, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, maybe I’m happy. I don’t know how I feel.'”

The first truce in November 2023 lasted for a week and saw the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners: women, children and young men. At least 25 of those released have since been rearrested.



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

About 200 aid trucks arrive at Karem Abu Salem crossing: Report

About 200 aid delivery trucks, including 20 carrying fuel, have begun arriving at the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in advance of entry into the Gaza Strip, two Egyptian sources told Reuters.

The trucks were using the entry point pending completion of maintenance at the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza from Egypt, they told the news agency.


World Food Programme aid trucks start crossing into Gaza

The UN’s food agency says trucks carrying humanitarian aid have started entering Gaza from the Karem Abu Salem (known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis) crossing in the south and another crossing in Zikim in the north.

The first trucks carry wheat flour and ready-to-eat food parcels “for people in desperate need”, the organisation said, adding it aims to deliver food on a daily basis using routes from Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

“This ceasefire is critical for the humanitarian response. Safety, and access must be ensured.”


First trucks of supplies entering Gaza: Aid official

The head of the UN OCHA in the occupied Palestinian territory says the first trucks of supplies began entering Gaza 15 minutes after the ceasefire went into effect at 09:15 GMT.

“A massive effort has been underway over the past days from humanitarian partners to load and prepare to distribute a surge of aid across all of Gaza,” Jonathan Whittall said in a post on X.



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SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Mediators confident captive-and-prisoner exchange will be successful: Qatar

Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, says a “logistical delay” in getting the names of the captives that are due to be released was the reason for the delayed implementation of the ceasefire.

“In November 2023, we had an exchange of similar parameters taking place and therefore we are not new to the difficulties of the last-minute exchange of information, including the names of prisoners and captives to be exchanged,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Within the operations of maintaining the ceasefire and implementing the deal, there are a lot of logistical difficulties that have to do with the situation on the ground,” he added. “Communication and movement in Gaza is not easy and therefore it takes sometimes more time than expected, but thankfully we were able to resolve it and now we have the ceasefire in place and aid starting to go into Gaza.”

Al-Ansari also expressed confidence that the captive-and-prisoner exchange later today will be “successful”. The operations room of the mediators is in Egypt and is “working right now as we speak on making sure that the exchange today happens seamlessly”, he added.

When asked about Netanyahu’s statement that he may resume the war if the ceasefire isn’t fully implemented, al-Ansari said the mediators’ centre of attention has been the deal at hand.

“Our focus from day one was always on getting the deal through, getting the deal signed, implementing that deal on the ground,” he told Al Jazeera. “If we are going to listen to every political statement being made by officials here and there, you know, this deal would never have come to fruition.”

Al-Ansari also stated that both the outgoing and incoming US administrations were “very instrumental in getting the deal through”.

“We really appreciate that the transition team – while we know the pressures of the transition period – have allocated so much effort and time to make sure that the deal happens and it’s a statement by President Trump that we look very favourably upon that called for an end to the war and for the beginning of the truce, and this is exactly what is happening right now,” he said.

The official thanked all those who supported the deal, saying it “led to the moment that we have right now, when the people of Gaza can look to their skies and see hope rather than death and destruction raining upon them”.


Israel Prison Service receives list of Palestinian prisoners to be released

A spokesperson says the Israel Prison Service is working on the procedure for the release of the Palestinian prisoners in accordance with the agreement.

The service has received a list of prisoners, who will be transferred to the central reception point in Ofer Prison, near Ramallah.

Upon arrival, the prisoners will be identified by Red Cross representatives and will wait until the arrival of the Israeli captives held in Gaza. The Red Cross will then transfer the Palestinian prisoners from Ofer prison to the release points.


Palestinian prisoners to be released are from occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem

According to initial information, all the Palestinian prisoners that are due to be released are from the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

The list includes 69 women and 21 children.


Khalida Jarrar and 12 youths on list of Palestinian prisoners to be released

Al Jazeera has received the list of 90 Palestinian prisoners who will be released under the exchange deal that will see the release of three female Israeli civilian captives.

The list includes the name of Khalida Jarrar, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the occupied West Bank. Others on the list include at least 12 young Palestinian men, some of them under 19 years of age, and minors.

According to Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, many children and minors have been arrested for charges related to throwing rocks at Israeli forces.

“We are talking about light sentences,” she said. “The list of prisoners, the hundreds of names that have been released, are mostly serving administrative detention, which is a tactic used by Israeli policy to keep people in prison indefinitely without charges. These administrative detentions keep getting renewed over and over again.”



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Ceasefire doesn’t bring ‘complete relief’ after 15 months of stress: Displaced Palestinian

Nour Saqqa, a displaced Palestinian woman from Gaza City, says she feels an “overwhelming mixture of emotions”.

“We haven’t been able to feel completely relieved, not only because of how stressful these 15 months have been, but also due to the ceasefire itself – the fact that it has been fragmented rather than announced and implemented all at once,” Saqqa told Al Jazeera in Rafah.

Saqqa also said the fact she and other Palestinians from Gaza City are still not allowed to return to their homes in the first phase of the ceasefire is causing the population “even more psychological stress”.

“We’re constantly living through this uncertainty and anxiety that even this relief is not completely full.”


‘The nightmare of death and starvation is over’

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets across Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, some in celebration and many rushing back to see what remained of their bombarded homes.

“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” said Aya, a displaced woman from northern Gaza City who sheltered in central Deir el-Balah for more than a year.

“We are now waiting for the day we head back to our home in Gaza City. Damaged or not, it doesn’t matter, the nightmare of death and starvation is over.”

Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Ayham, 40, who sheltered with his family in southern Khan Younis, said the scene of destruction at his home city was “dreadful”, adding while the ceasefire may have spared lives it’s no time for celebrations.

“We are in pain, deep pain, and it is time that we hug one another and cry,” Abu Ayham said.


‘There is no life at all’: Displaced Palestinian returns to ruins

Mahmoud Anwar Abu-Salem, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, has spoken to Al Jazeera following his return to his area after spending three months in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.

“The house, the whole thing, was reduced to rubble. Fifty people of my family will live in the streets,” he said, explaining that before the war, the five-floor building housed many of his relatives.

“Schools have also been destroyed. There is no life at all,” Abu Salem said. “Even the mosque was hit and destroyed. It is even difficult to set up a tent here.”


‘In every single corner, wherever you look, you find destruction’

Once the ceasefire implementation took place earlier today, civilians started to celebrate.

There were joyful scenes, with people emerging from evacuation shelters to open spaces and public squares and celebrating the end of the bloodshed that has been ongoing for more than 15 months.

Families displaced from the eastern areas of Gaza and from areas such as Rafah started to return to their homes to check what’s been left of them.

But the destruction has been pervasive; in every single corner, wherever you turn, you only find devastation and destruction. Families have been displaying resilience, saying they will dismantle the tents they have been living in and will rebuild their houses.

But people are also being cautious, as there is a growing sense of scepticism regarding this fragile ceasefire.


Displaced Palestinians walk past rubble as they attempt to return to their homes



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Red Cross begins process to receive captives: Reports

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has started the process of receiving the three captives held in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Channel 12 reports.

Separately, an official involved in the operation told Reuters that the ICRC team in Gaza is on the way to collect the captives.

According to reports, the Red Cross is expected to take the women to a special army unit in Gaza. From there, they are to be taken to a military facility in Israel near Gaza for initial health examinations before they are taken to a hospital, where they will meet their families.

‘Nobody will be left behind’

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged Israelis to gather in Tel Aviv before the expected release of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher from Gaza.

“Crowds of Israelis will come to be together at Hostages Square to support the families of the hostages and to watch the historic and emotional moments that will be projected on the giant screen,” the group said in a statement.

“Now more than ever we need the people of Israel with us until the last hostage. Nobody will be left behind.”


How many captives does Hamas still have?

About 250 people were kidnapped during Hamas’s-led in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. About 100 captives still remain in Gaza after the rest were released or their bodies recovered, although it’s unclear how many of them are alive.

Three women held in Gaza are expected to be released in the coming hours after 471 days in captivity in exchange for 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Hours before the ceasefire took effect, Israel announced it had retrieved the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war and whose remains have been held since then.


Shifting momentum to block Netanyahu from returning to war: Commentator

Tel Aviv-based political commentator Ori Goldberg says the majority of Israelis “don’t really care about the Palestinians” and see the people of Gaza as having brought the war on themselves.

He told Al Jazeera the ceasefire is likely to last despite contrary comments from Israel’s leadership.

“The official spin is the continuation of the war is not only possible but perhaps imminent. But the official spin is exactly that. I think the shifting momentum will not encourage Prime Minister Netanyahu to return to fighting this war,” he said.

“There are other dangers, other threats. Military action in the West Bank looks more and more on the table. But as far as Gaza is concerned, I think the Israeli public reaction is ‘good riddance.’.



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

We trust ceasefire leads to ‘lasting peace for both peoples’: UN high commissioner

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says a durable ceasefire “will bring immense relief to devastated Gaza”.

In a post on X, he added: “We rejoice with all those for whom the nightmare is over. But we must also trust that it leads to serious negotiations and to just, lasting peace for both peoples, so that no more ceasefires will be needed.”

‘Hamas will never govern Gaza’: Trump’s national security adviser

The US president-elect’s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has said that if Hamas reneges on the deal, the US will support Israel “in doing what it has to do”.

“Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable,” Waltz said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation programme.


Former UN relief boss says ceasefire accountability process crucial

Martin Griffiths, who served as the United Nations’ emergency relief chief, says it is crucial to find a clearly established “pathway to peace” as the Gaza truce takes hold.

“We don’t have that yet in this agreement. We have the prospect of it, but we have a lot of countervailing voices about whether we’re going to go to phase two, let alone phase three. We know the political future of the people of Palestine has to include governance by Palestinians, the commitment of the region, and the voice of the people,” Griffiths told Al Jazeera.

“In the future, when there will be many ceasefire breaches, there needs to be a procedure whereby the parties discuss it with the mediators, some accountability, and then hopefully not allowing a breach to become a termination.

“Knowing there’s a process to keep us informed – the world and the Palestinian people – is essential to keeping hope going, and we need to hear much more about that in the coming days.”



SvennoJ 7 hours ago

Israeli army says Red Cross communicated captives have been transferred

In a statement, the Israeli army says the Red Cross has told it that three captives have been transferred and are on their way towards Israeli forces.


Video shows Hamas fighters, Red Cross during captive handover

As we reported, the Israeli army says that Red Cross personnel have accepted custody of three female Israeli captives from Hamas.

Video from the ground, posted on social media by a Palestinian journalist and verified by Al Jazeera, shows fighters from Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, controlling a large crowd in Saraya Square in Gaza City with Red Cross vehicles in the background.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFAvnFxsqln


Hostages in good health, Red Cross tells Israel

The Red Cross has told the Israeli government that the three hostages transferred on Sunday by Hamas are in good condition, an Israeli official tells CNN.

“The condition of the three hostages is good, following an initial medical examination,” the official said.


Celebrations erupt in Tel Aviv as hostages confirmed to be with Red Cross

Israelis cheered and hugged as news of the three hostages being handed over to the Red Cross broke.

“Romi is coming back! Emily is coming back! Doron is coming back!” Israelis chanted in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

Confirmation of the handover for the crowd came in on a large television screen in the square, which was broadcasting Al Jazeera with Israeli commentary playing in the background.


Israelis celebrate at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday.


Red Cross transfers 3 hostages to Israeli military in Gaza

The Red Cross has transferred three Israeli hostages to the Israeli military in Gaza, the military said in a statement.

The military will now bring Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari, out of Gaza to Israel.


People gather around Red Cross vehicles in Gaza City on Sunday.

Last edited by SvennoJ - 6 hours ago