Palestinians and Israelis hope that the Gaza agreement is close

Palestinians and Israelis have expressed cautious hope that a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip is imminent after 15 months of brutal war.

“I can’t believe I’m still alive to witness this moment,” Sanabel, 17, said in a voice memo from Gaza City. “We’ve been waiting with bated breath for this since the first month of the year (last).”

Sharon Lifshitz, one of the hostages’ elderly father, said: “I’m trying to breathe, I’m trying to be optimistic.” I would venture to imagine that a deal could be made now and that everyone would be held hostage. come back”

A spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that there were no major issues impeding a deal between Israel and Hamas and that the indirect talks in Doha were focused on “reaching a final agreement”.

An Israeli government official said the talks had made real progress and entered a critical and critical period, while Hamas said it was happy with the progress of the talks.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the deal was “on the brink”.

Sanabel, who lives with her family in their partially destroyed home, told the BBC’s OS program that everyone in northern Gaza was “happy, excited, hopeful to see their good friends, to see their families who were displaced to southern Gaza. Thread, to start again.”

The teenager said she called her displaced best friend and discussed “what we would do if the war was over” and said she would start by trying to “make up for all the minutes that they kept me from seeing her”.

“But after I called her, there was a big bomb in my area. It reminded me of (the last ceasefire and hostage release agreement) in November 2023. There were huge bombs and missiles (before it started). I’m really scared. This will happen again.”

“I don’t want to lose one of my family members in the final hours of this war. I don’t want a cease-fire for a year or five months. A long-term cease-fire — for the rest of us.”

Asma Tayeh, a young woman sheltering with her family from her grandparents’ house in the Al Nasr neighborhood of western Gaza City, said people dared to hope again.

“You can’t imagine how excited and worried people are here,” she told the BBC. Everyone is expecting it to survive just after the announcement.

Asma is the largest urban refugee camp in Jabaliya, Gaza, whose residents have been forced from their homes by the Israeli army many times.

Asma’s family was forced to flee again when the Israeli army launched a new ground offensive in Jabalia in October.

Since then, a fierce battle has raged in Jabaliya. By December, Asma said her entire area had “cleared up.”

Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 2023 have spoken to the BBC about news of a possible ceasefire.

Sharon Lifshitz is a British-Israeli artist and filmmaker who has had no news of her 84-year-old father, Oded, since the woman he was imprisoned with was released in November 2023 in a week-long ceasefire.

“For us, we know there’s going to be a lot of heartbreak. We know quite a few[hostages]are not alive. We’re very excited for the survivors to go back to their families first. Each one of them. They mean a whole world,” she told the Today program.

Her mother, Yocheved – who was also kidnapped in the Oct. 7 attack and released weeks later – was skeptical about the prospect of a deal, but said “I feel glimmers of optimism are coming.”

Eyal Calderon – 54-year-old Ofer Calderon’s cousin and their two children were among 105 hostages released in November – in an audio note to BBC OS: “We hope the deal will be closed soon.” And then we get to the moment where we hug Ofer, the four kids hug.

“We want this deal to include all the hostages, all 98 hostages. We’re asking. We’re just hoping to see them all in Israel (territory).”

Lee Siegel – the brother of Keith Siegel, 64, whose wife Aviva was freed in November – said: “All the hostages need to come home – those who are alive need to work to rebuild their lives and their families.” The deceased for a proper burial in their native country.

Some of the families of the hostages, who were not included in the initial releases, expressed anger that their relatives could be left behind if the deal is later broken.

Ruby Chen’s son, Itai, was killed in an attack on October 7, 2023, and his body is found in Gaza.

“The prime minister is unfortunately moving forward with a deal that does not include my son and 65 other hostages. It is not known how my son will get out. And for most families, this deal is unacceptable,” he said. .

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced opposition from right-wing cabinet ministers and some in his own party who oppose the release of prisoners and a broad ceasefire.

Sharon Lifshitz said most Israelis had supported such a deal “for a long time,” but added pressure from the administrations of the outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to finally give the Netanyahu government “more pressure.” It was necessary.

“This deal looks like the deal that was on the table in July,” she added. Since July, many, many hostages have died, soldiers, Palestinians, much suffering.

Speaking on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was confident the majority of the Israeli government would support the deal.

Meanwhile, Blinken – the US secretary of state nearing the end of his term – has laid out for the first time the Biden administration’s plan for a post-war Gaza handover to Trump.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) – the entity created by the Oslo Accords – does not intend to immediately take full control of Gaza under the limited administration of the occupied West Bank.

Crucially, Gaza’s security forces will be composed of personnel from other countries – perhaps even unnamed Arab states – alongside “refined” Palestinian forces.

Blinken said that, as before, Hamas tried to provoke a regional war.

Meanwhile, Israel says its military campaign to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and kill its leaders responsible for the October 7 attacks has “passed its limits.”

This is self-defeating, and the United States has assessed that Hamas has recruited as many new fighters as Israel has killed.

In the year On October 7, 2023, Israel launched an operation to eliminate Hamas following an attack by the group that killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

More than 46,640 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. 2.3 million people have been displaced, most of them have been displaced from their villages, there is massive destruction, and in the fight to help the needy, there is a huge shortage of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.

Israel said that 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, and 34 of them are said to be dead. In addition, four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.