Israel today welcomed the last 20 living hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement "Hamas" after the attack on October 7, 2023, as the first phase of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. US President Donald Trump is on his way to Israel to celebrate the hostage release, and before boarding the presidential plane "Air Force One" last night, he declared that the war in Gaza was "over", writes the "Times of Israel".
He made the statement hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military campaign was not over yet and warned of unspecified "major security challenges" that Israel is expected to face in the near future.
Asked by journalists to comment on Netanyahu's words, Trump replied categorically: "The war is over" and added that he believed that the ceasefire, which took effect on Friday, would be permanent. "People are tired of this. It has gone on too long," the US president said.
Trump also said that he had received "guarantees" from Israel and "Hamas" and other key regional powers to implement both the first phase of the agreement and future stages of it, which have yet to be finalised.
This is a "rare moment of hope for the Middle East", writes the "Financial Times".
For two years, the hostages held by "Hamas" have been a symbol of the trauma that the horrific attack of October 7, 2023, has inflicted on Israeli society. The hostages were subjected to brutal conditions - held deep in the Palestinian group's network of tunnels while Israel bombed the Gaza Strip. Some were tortured and starved, others were executed. The prisoners have become a major source of pressure in negotiations with Israel, the publication notes.
The truce will now also bring relief to more than two million desperate residents of the Gaza Strip, who have endured daily bombing, displacement and mass starvation.
Trump should be applauded for his efforts to end this catastrophe, the "Financial Times" noted. Qatar, Egypt and Turkey also deserve credit for convincing "Hamas" to accept the agreement.
Yet the toughest hurdles are yet to come if Trump is to secure the lasting and sustainable settlement for Gaza promised by his plan. It is crucial that he stays the course and ensures full implementation of the plan, including a phased Israeli withdrawal and the establishment of a credible new governance structure for Gaza that includes the Palestinians to ensure its legitimacy, the publication notes.
"Why is this happening now? Why has it taken 736 days?", asks the "New York Times". That question was hushed up during the celebrations in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday night, when hundreds of thousands of people crowded into the so-called Hostage Square, awaiting their release early this morning.
Historians may argue for years whether the war between Israel and "Hamas" could have ended a year ago, when Israeli forces eliminated the leader of the Palestinian group and the considered "architect of the attacks" of October 7, Yahya Sinwar. Or whether Israel and Hamas have missed a chance to build on the truce brokered by President Joe Biden before Trump took office.
"Now is a different time - we didn't have what President Trump has now," former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to answer in a weekend phone interview with The New York Times. "Hamas has been defeated as a military organization, diplomatically isolated, lost its patrons - Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis - and alienated the people of Gaza," he added.
"Israel has long achieved its military goals of destroying Hamas' ability to repeat (the attacks of) October 7 and eliminating the leaders responsible - at the cost of many Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire. The Israeli people want the remaining hostages to come home and the war to end," Blinken also said.
The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical for the future of the Middle East, writes the British newspaper "Independent". Although the leaders of more than 20 countries, including US President Donald Trump, are preparing to gather in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to sign the agreement between Israel and "Hamas", the risks are as prominent as the hopes.
There are still many hurdles to overcome, but for the first time, the positives outweigh the negatives.
The second phase of the agreement covers direct rule of the Gaza Strip, the removal of "Hamas" from power and its disarmament. These are aspects of the Trump plan that the Palestinian group has either questioned or rejected outright. What happens now will be a test - of Hamas's remaining strength, of Israel's ability to achieve its goals and of the resolve of the United States and its regional allies.
For the first time in two years, Israel can breathe, the "Jerusalem Post" commented. Relief, gratitude and exhaustion are intertwined as hostages begin to return and the people emerge - wounded but resilient - from one of the darkest and most difficult periods in its history.
In the coming days, global and regional reactions will determine which doors the ceasefire agreement opens and which it closes. Israel’s relations with its neighbors and its closest ally have already been shaped by two years of war. Now they will be tested and perhaps redefined by the elections in the coming days and what comes next, the publication notes.
How this agreement was reached - and why earlier efforts failed - these questions will also resonate in Israeli politics and determine the contours of the next election. This will shape the election campaign, which is already underway, to present the agreement as a national success and measure how much Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can gain from it.
The nightmare may finally be over. Now the test of what we have learned begins, adds the "Jerusalem Post".
The UK, for its part, said it would host a meeting on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the "Guardian" reported, citing the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
London said that the already pledged 20 million pounds of aid would be directed at water, sanitation and hygiene services. The funding will be provided through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The UK will also host a three-day conference organized by the "Wilton Park" agency at the Foreign Office, which begins tonight.
The event will bring together representatives from the Palestinian Authority, as well as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and Italy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, as well as the private sector and donors. They will discuss "efforts to support the Palestinian Authority's own transformation and reform agenda to ensure it can support the reconstruction of Gaza", a Downing Street statement said, noting that while the process would be Palestinian-led, "Hamas" would have absolutely no role (in it)".