For the first time in 471 days, Palestinian doctors in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip reported no deaths following Israeli military action on Monday, amid tense circumstances. ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was put in place. CBS News teams in Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank saw more joy — or at least relief — than had been painted on residents’ faces for 15 months.
The ceasefire took effect Sunday after an initial three-hour delay, during which nearly 20 additional Palestinians were killed, according to medics in the decimated Palestinian territory.
Under the terms of the agreement, which the United States helped negotiate with Qatar and Egypt, three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas on Sunday after fighting stopped. Shortly after midnight local time, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from an Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank.
After more than a year of devastating war sparked by the brutal Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, which saw militants kill some 1,200 people and kidnap 251 others, the people of Gaza heard the sound of children on Monday who played instead of the thunder of the fighters. jets and airstrikes, observed Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA, in a declaration posted on social networks.
“Our teams reported a good first day of ceasefire,” he said, adding that aid and some commercial supplies began flowing smoothly into Gaza on Sunday. Along with the reciprocal release of hostages and prisoners, this is the other major element of the ceasefire agreement. At least 600 aid trucks a day are expected to enter Gaza, carrying everything from desperately needed food and medicine to fuel for generators.
“The ceasefire must continue to be respected and all elements of the agreement must be implemented,” Lazzarini said. “This is a step in the right direction towards lasting peace and stability for all.”
Palestinians eager to return to their destroyed homes in Gaza
Rebuilding Gaza will be an incredibly long and expensive process, and it is only expected to begin in earnest during the third and final phase of the project. ceasefire agreement in three phaseswhich, assuming the deal remains intact, could be several months away. Yet the Hamas-run Gaza City municipality said in a declaration On Monday, we began to clear at least the main roads, which had been closed during the war.
This will help as tens of thousands of displaced civilians trudge back to their towns and villages across the enclave, to assess the damage to their homes and attempt to use whatever they can salvage from the ruins.
Hatem Khaled/Reuters
Thousands of families began walking or pulling carts from displacement camps in Gaza City to the razed towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
They also returned to the southern city of Rafah, where the CBS News team spoke with a young girl wearing a dress patterned with the Palestinian flag.
“This is the moment that all citizens of Gaza have been waiting for,” she said. “Thank God the war is over… It’s time to celebrate after enduring the pain. It’s time to rebuild after all the destruction. The children of Gaza are shaping a new future.”
Civil Defense rescue teams continued to recover the decomposing bodies of dozens of people killed during the war, both under the rubble of destroyed buildings and in the streets. Civil Defense estimates that around 10,000 bodies could still be buried under the rubble of demolished houses in Gaza.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Monday that hospitals in the enclave had received the bodies of 122 people found since the ceasefire took effect, including 62 pulled from the rubble, bringing the total number of deaths in Gaza since the start of the war to 47,035. The ministry does not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties, but says the vast majority of those killed are civilians, including tens of thousands of women and children.
Happy reunion for 3 Israeli families, hope for dozens of others
A Red Cross convoy entering Gaza City on Sunday was the first sign that Hamas was holding up its end of the bargain. But the handover of the hostages was chaotic; Heavily armed Hamas fighters surrounded and climbed on top of the vehicles – a clear show of strength and resilience after more than a year of war against the vastly superior Israeli military.
But soon, the whole world and desperate families back home got their first glimpse of the three freed women as they rushed between cars and toward freedom.
AFP/Getty
Held hostage in fear by Hamas for 15 months, Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Emily Damari, 28, were finally about to be returned to the eager arms of their loved ones. The three women – including Damari, an Israeli-British national who lost two fingers in the October 7 attack when she was kidnapped – were all reunited with their mothers upon their arrival in Israel.
“Yesterday I finally got to give Emily the hug I dreamed of,” Damari’s mother Mandy said in a statement released Monday. “I am relieved to report that following her release, Emily is doing far better than any of us could have imagined… In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world ; she got her life back.”
ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES/Document
Even in her moment of intense joy, Mandy Damari stressed that other families were still waiting to share in this exhilaration.
“We must also remember that there are still 94 other hostages remaining,” she added. “The ceasefire must continue and every hostage must be returned to their families.”
Hundreds of Israelis watching from Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square also shared in the joy Sunday evening – including some whose loved ones have not made it out of Hamas captivity – or have yet to do so. .
Gil Dickmann’s cousin, Carmel Gat, was among those kidnapped. His body was recovered during an Israeli military operation at the beginning of September. Yet Dickmann regularly attended protests at Place des Otages calling for the return of dozens of other people. He told CBS News that when he saw the women getting out of the vehicles on Sunday, he had a hard time even believing it.
“My God, it’s them,” he said to himself. “All people around the world should feel this joy – that of people returning home alive. It’s always the happiest thing you can ever experience.”
Celebrations in the West Bank as Palestinian prisoners are freed
There was also elation and celebration in the Israeli-occupied West Bank late Sunday night, as 90 Palestinian detainees, mostly women, were released in exchange for the freed hostages.
“They treated us like animals,” said Rose Quis, 18.
“I left hell and now I am in heaven,” Abdelaziz Atawneh said as he left Israel’s Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The freed detainees were greeted with fireworks, whistles and shouts of “God is great”, and many were hoisted onto the shoulders of the massive crowd that had gathered outside from prison – many of them waiting all day for their release.
MUSSA ISSA QAWASMA/Reuters
According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank, all of those released early Monday were women or teenagers, the youngest being just 15 years old. They were imprisoned by Israel, most without formal charges. for alleged offenses ranging from stone throwing to attempted murder.
The next hostage-for-prisoner exchange is expected to take place on Saturday as part of the ceasefire agreement, with the release of four hostages in exchange for around 120 Palestinian prisoners. A total of 33 Israeli hostages are to be released during the first six-week phase of the deal.
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contributed to this report.