Gaza Ceasefire Deal Brings Scenes of Relief and Some Uncertainty for Activists

As international leaders gathered in Egypt on Monday to mark the first stage of a ceasefire deal in Gaza, activists in the Bay Area celebrated the relief of the major breakthrough but said it isn’t without hesitation — and fear — over whether it will lead to prolonged peace.

On Monday, Hamas released the final 20 living Israeli hostages captured during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, and in exchange, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were detained without charges during the two-year war.

The Israeli hostages were delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross inside Gaza in two groups, NPR reported, and many have been reunited with loved ones in Israel, according to social media posts from the Israel Defense Forces. Many of the detained Palestinians were put on buses to Gaza and the West Bank. Israel is sending others abroad.

The exchange was one of the most critical and long-demanded aspects of a deal to end the fighting. But many questions about how to rehabilitate the destroyed Gaza Strip, who will lead, and when Israel will withdraw its troops remain uncertain and precarious.

“It’s both happiness and relief, and understanding that we need to work hard to make it so that Palestinians really do have freedom,” said Ellen Brotsky, a council member of the Bay Area’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. “It’s both of those. I’m holding both of them.”

Seth Brysk, the Northern California regional director for the American Jewish Committee, said that while he also feels relief and appreciation for the moment, “there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.”

“This is a potentially historic, pivotal moment for the Middle East. There’s potential here for the brighter future that we’ve all hoped for for Israelis and Palestinians and really for the entire region,” he told KQED. “It’s a great moment that shouldn’t be allowed to pass.”

“We could see the joy in both Palestinians and Israelis on the ground,” Brotsky said.

“I was deeply impacted both by the videos of Palestinians, once the ceasefire agreement was announced, the stream of Palestinians going back to northern Gaza; the videos of the hostages being returned both in Israel and in Palestine,” she continued. “And also, I feel like this is just the first step.”

The first phase of the plan that would end the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza, officially took effect Friday after gaining approval from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet and Hamas leaders.

Israeli forces have pulled back from some of the most populous parts of Gaza they’ve occupied, and through the weekend, many Palestinians have begun returning to displaced parts of Northern Gaza.

Many of the longer-term aspects of President Trump’s previously announced 20-point peace proposal, published by the BBC, still need to be worked out and will likely be challenging to execute.

The initial phase of the deal still demands that Hamas release the bodies of 28 more Israeli hostages who are presumed to be dead, and that Israel allows an influx of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Four coffins carrying hostages’ remains were en route to Israel’s National Institute for Forensic Medicine for identification, the IDF said Monday. It’s unclear if and when the outstanding bodies might be returned.

The deal also required Israeli troops to pull back to agreed-upon “yellow lines” outside the Gaza City and Khan Yunis areas. Going forward, Israel would need to withdraw from Gaza entirely — aside from a security buffer zone — while Hamas would be required to agree to disarm and give up any role in governing the region.

Hamas has not publicly agreed to disarm, and it’s unclear what other group might have the capacity to lead long-term. Israel has not set forth a timeline for withdrawing its remaining troops, who are still stationed in about half of the region, according to NPR.

“The international community has to maintain pressure on Hamas to agree to the rest of the peace plan,” Brysk said. “They have to agree to disarm, that there needs to be an international mechanism with a Palestinian presence to govern a post-war Gaza and we have to make sure that Hamas can’t be allowed to maintain its weapons or to govern Gaza.”

“I’m going to be watching to see that Israel is held to the agreements in the ceasefire,” Brotsky said.

Since Oct. 7, there have been three attempts to pause or halt fighting in exchange for the release of some hostages and delivery of aid to Gaza. Israel and Hamas have both accused the other of violating the temporary ceasefires, as well as historical peace deals prior to the war.

“That often happens,” Brotsky said.

She said Jewish Voice for Peace will be closely watching to see that, as negotiations over the reconstruction and habilitation of Gaza begin, Palestinians are given autonomy, and that they do not endure “military rule and oppression” by Israel.

“Without Palestinian sovereignty and authority and participation in the peace deal as leaders, things aren’t going to change,” she said. “Israel, the U.S., other nations can’t be the decisive voices in the reconstruction that happens.”

Under Trump’s proposed plan, he would oversee a body called the “Board of Peace,” which would guide a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” to set up new governance in Gaza. The body would be temporary, and Trump said it would be comprised of a group of “qualified” Palestinians and international experts.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would also be a member of the Board of Peace, according to the plan, though others who might also be involved in leadership haven’t been named.

Samer Araabi of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center said he’s wary of a group of international leaders guiding the development of a governance structure in Gaza.

“Europeans overseeing the way that Palestine will be ‘rebuilt’ — we have a hundred years of history of that happening, and we know exactly how well that has worked in the past,” he said.

He’s also unsure that the group of Palestinian technocrats and Board of Peace put together by Trump would effectively oversee economic recovery and rehabilitation of the land in Gaza, the vast majority of which has been destroyed.

NPR estimates that 78% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, including more than 100 historical and archeological sites. Only 1.5% of farmland in Gaza can still be cultivated, and just 14 of its 36 hospitals are partially or wholly functional.

“I don’t know whether the political will exists to actually make Gaza livable again, to put in the investment and time and energy to rebuild an utterly devastated society,” Araabi said. “It’s hard to see whether or not that is all going to be done and whether it will actually be done in a way that prioritizes and values Palestinian sovereignty.”

KQED’s Sara Hossaini contributed to this report.