On the evening of October 9, local time, Khalil Haya, a senior Hamas official and chief negotiator, issued a statement announcing a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Haya said Hamas had received assurances from mediators, including the United States, that "the war in Gaza is over."
According to the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army will gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and Hamas will release all Israeli detainees in exchange for Israel's release of more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The agreement also stipulates that hundreds of trucks carrying food and medical supplies will be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
Tamara Rifai, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for Relief and Engineering for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, said that the next moment in Gaza will take a breath, “people are full of expectation.”
Gazans gather together to return to Gaza City
In January this year, both Hamas and Israel had reached a ceasefire agreement, but two months later, Israel resumed its military operations against Gaza and the ceasefire agreement was finally broken. This time, after Israel agreed to sign the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on Thursday (9), Israel also airstrikes several areas of Khan Younis.
The Gaza Civil Defence Department has warned local residents that they should still stay away from the Gaza Strip, while large numbers of people are gathering near the Nashrim Corridor, which connects the north and south of the Gaza Strip, hoping to return to Gaza City after the Israeli troops withdraw.
Senior U.S. officials said on Monday that the U.S. would send about 200 troops to Israel to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, which will be first stationed at a coordination center operated by the U.S. Central Command, adding another official said the troops were U.S. soldiers with expertise in transportation, security, planning, logistics or engineering.
White House spokesman Levitt also explained on social media platforms that the soldiers stationed at the U.S. Central Command will be responsible for overseeing the ceasefire agreement in Israel, "they will also engage in ground cooperation with other international forces."
US President Trump once proposed to jointly form an "International Stabilization Force"(ISF) with Arab countries,Some analysts believe that the United States is mainly responsible for overseeing and coordinating, while troops from other countries (such as Qatar, Egypt, the UAE) are likely to enter the Gaza Strip.
Stage 3 withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza
based onPhase I ceasefireAccording to the agreement, the Israeli military will be withdrawn to the new defense line in the Gaza Strip. While the sides have not released the latest official evacuation map, according to a map published by Trump and the White House on social media platforms, it can be seen roughly how the Israeli military will evacuate.
Israel currently controls more than 80% of Gaza, about 365 square kilometers of land.
▲ The White House released the Israeli army's evacuation road map on social platforms. Among them, the blue line is the current line of control of the Israeli army. The yellow line is the position to which the Israeli army will withdraw in the first phase, the red line is the position to which the Israeli army will withdraw in the second phase, and the shadow is the "security buffer zone" to which the Israeli army will withdraw in the third phase.
Next, in the first phase, Hamas is expected to release all Israeli detainees, while Israel will retreat to the "preliminary withdrawal zone", which is what Trump administration officials call the "yellow line" position. After the retreat, there are still 210 square kilometers of land, accounting for about 58% of Gaza's area, still under Israeli control.
It is noteworthy that the 210 square kilometers comprise several formerly densely populated communities, such as the Shujayea, Tuffah and Zeitoun districts in Gaza City, more than half of the southern Khan Unis and all of the southernmost areas of Rafah.
In the second phase, the ISF will be mobilized to oversee the local security situation and the Israeli army will withdraw to the Red Line position. In the third phase, the Israeli army will withdraw from the “safety buffer zone” and control only a small area of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the governance and transition period of the region will be overseen by an international administrative body.
The future of Gaza, who cares?
With the conclusion of the ceasefire agreement, the future governance of Gaza has become the focus of attention of all parties. The two major political factions in Palestine are the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah). The former seized control of the Gaza Strip,The latterIt controls the Palestinian National Authority and is the mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Palestinian officials say the Palestinian National Authority wants to play a major role in post-war Gaza and hopes for Arab support. However, Trump proposed in his "20-point plan" that Gaza be taken over by a supervised Palestinian technocratic committee. Reports said Palestinian officials were privately disappointed.
Three senior officials from the Palestinian National Authority said they would still like to be involved in the affairs of Gaza.They mentioned that after Hamas controlled Gaza, the agency also played an important role in Gaza, “we paid public servants and oversaw basic facility services including education and power supply in Gaza.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa pointed out that temporary assistance and supervision arranged by the international community is one thing, but follow-up governance is another. Mustafa said many countries, especially Arab countries, believe that the Palestinian National Authority must take charge of Gaza "because they know it's the only viable solution." Mustafa also revealed that 5500 Palestinians had been sent to Egypt for training to join the new Gaza police force.