Celebrations and relief over Gaza ceasefire deal
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Paul Moss, and in the early hours of Thursday, the 16th of January, these are our main stories. Israel and Hamas have agreed a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, raising hopes there could soon be an end to more than a year of war. The news was met with celebrations in Gaza and relief around the world. In other news, Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed the America First agenda at his confirmation hearing in Washington.
Also in this podcast... The corridors, the hospital wards, they are all full of people in pain. Everyone complains that they do not really receive the kind of treatment they used to receive before.
After the withdrawal of foreign aid, many Afghan hospitals are struggling to cope. It might sound strange to say, but there was something strikingly similar about the crowds who gathered in Gaza and in Israel, huddled together, waving flags, faces of hope, both people who'd come together wanting to hear collectively that announcement of a peace deal or at least a ceasefire. But that said, there is, of course, a profound difference in what exactly they're hoping for. In Israel, it's all about securing the release of the hostages held by Hamas. But what the people of Gaza want is an end to Israel's missile, rocket and artillery attacks, which have killed more than 45,000 people, most of them civilians. So will the deal announced in Qatar deliver all that?
From Jerusalem, here's our correspondent, Jonah Fisher.
There are three phases to this deal, but only the first part has been agreed. It's a six-week ceasefire with the phased release of 33 hostages who were seized during Hamas's attacks 15 months ago. In return for each hostage set free, Israel will release dozens of Palestinian prisoners. More aid will immediately flow into the Gaza Strip, and Israel will pull its soldiers out of the more densely populated parts of the territory. Displaced people will then be allowed to return to find out what, if anything, is left of their homes. The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani, has been hosting and mediating talks between the two sides. Speaking through a translator, he said he was confident the truce would hold.
We are committed. We will continue to do everything we can, everything possible, together with our partners to ensure that this deal is implemented as it's agreed. And this deal will bring us peace, hopefully, at the end of it. I believe that it all depends on the parties of the agreement acting in good faith in order to ensure that no collapse happening to that deal. There is still a group of Israeli hostages, men of military age, who are not part of the first releases. Their fate has been left to another round of talks, which are due to start 16 days into the ceasefire. It's only then that key questions about Gaza's future, such as who will govern it and whether Israel fully withdraws its forces, will be addressed.
Israel says that 60 hostages are still alive and being held by Hamas. Around 30 more there are thought to be dead. Among those hoping that their family is closer to being reunited is Moshe Lavi, brother-in-law of Omri Moran, who was abducted from his home on a kibbutz. He told my colleague Tim Franks this deal gives no absolute guarantees.
This is a phased deal and only the first phase was agreed upon. Sadly, it's called the humanitarian phase, but all the hostages in day 467 are in a humanitarian condition right now. And so we'll have to keep fighting, keep advocating as families with all leaders, with our own government, to understand they have to release all the hostages and put an end to the conflict and start looking how we can rebuild both in Israel and in Gaza.
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