Israel-Gaza ceasefire live: Charity hails ‘rare moment of hope’ as Hamas accepts deal to release hostages

Sagui Dekel-Chen was kidnapped from Nir Oz kibbutz during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that kicked off the conflict.

His father, Hebrew University of Jerusalem history professor Jonathan Dekel-Chen, told The Independent he still has very little information about the fate of his son.

“I’m a parent of a hostage who is completely in the dark,” he said. “We don’t have solid information about Sagui or any of the other hostages, who is alive or who is not.”

Hamas and Israel have reached a ceasefire deal brokered by the United States with the aid of the Egyptian and Qatari governments, ending 15 months of violence that began with the October 7, 2023, terror attacks, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking from the White House not long after news of the agreement became public, Biden said it was “a very good afternoon” because he could announce the deal had finally been reached. The inking of a ceasefire deal brings to a halt more than a year of war in Gaza, during which the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 100,000 wounded.

Our White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg reports:

A digital clock that towers over “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv has been ticking for the last 466 days. It marks the seconds, minutes, and days since families in Israel and beyond have been campaigning for the release of hundreds of their loved ones taken by the Hamas militant group into Gaza.

It is a clock that these families hope will finally come to a stop.

Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:

The “scars of this war will be long-lasting”, said president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) David Miliband.

“This ceasefire is essential and overdue. Too many lives have already been lost and ruined over the last 15 months of the conflict. The needs are immense, and need urgent attention,” he said in a statement.

“IRC teams on the ground have done outstanding work in the most difficult conditions. Many of these colleagues were displaced in makeshift shelters themselves.

“The scars of this war will be long-lasting, but a surge of aid is desperately needed to provide immediate relief to civilians. This will take flexible funding and the free flow of aid and aid workers. Done right, it can lay the foundations for the even harder work of development and peace.”

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas comes as a “huge relief after so much unbearable pain and misery over the past 15 months,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Wednesday.

“I urge parties to the conflict and all countries with influence to do everything in their powers to ensure the success of next stages of the ceasefire, including the release of all hostages and to end the war in its entirety,” he added.

“My thoughts, right now, are with those who have suffered so much unbearable pain and misery over the past 15 months, and I hope for everyone’s sake that no one will ever have to go through this again.

“Food, water, medicine, shelter and protection are the top priorities. We have no time to lose,” he added.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has welcomed the ceasefire deal – but says “the catastrophe persists” with many in Gaza remaining “destitute, starving and homeless”.

“A ceasefire is only the first step, and one that should have happened long ago,” the group said. “There is a real concern that Israel will resume fighting after the first phase of the deal is complete.

The international community must ensure Israel stops the war “completely and permanently”, B’Tselem said.

“Israeli decision-makers responsible for serious violations of the laws of war and for crimes against humanity must be held accountable, and all Israeli violence against the Palestinian people in the entire area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean must cease.

“The only way to break the cycle of bloodshed is to end the occupation, oppression, and apartheid regime and ensure the human rights of everyone living in this space.”

The US shifted its approach towards the Middle East in September, a senior official from the Biden administration has said.

Israel decided to focus on Lebanon rather than on a hostage deal in Gaza, the official said. As long as the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah remained in power, Israel was “never going to get a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza”, they added.

They described Israel’s campaign in Lebanon as “extraordinarily successful”, describing the “new political configuration” in Lebanon as “extraordinary”.

“On November 27 the Lebanon ceasefire went into effect. That led to December, which we returned to the table for the ceasefire hostage release talks in Gaza and a significantly changed equation in the Middle East,” the official added.

The Gaza ceasefire must lead to a lasting truce and prompt a huge aid expansion, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said.

“At long last we have a deal that must end the 15 months of relentless death, destruction, displacement, detention, and the holding of hostages.

“We call on the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and other nations to make sure Israel does keep all crossings open, enabling a sustained flow of aid that can alleviate further suffering.

“These hostilities have destabilised the Middle East and exposed millions of civilians to unrelenting violence. The Gaza ceasefire must not only introduce a lasting cessation of hostilities, but a firm commitment to international law, including accountability for war crimes.

“To end the cycle of violence, the international community must address the root causes of this decades-long conflict and pursue a just resolution in alignment with international law.”

Islamic Relief has welcomed a “rare moment of hope” after “15 months of unprecedented and relentless atrocities”.

But it says that the “big test will be what happens next, whether it is adhered to, and whether a temporary pause becomes permanent”.

“For almost 500 days Israel has carried out daily massacres, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and starvation against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as pleas for a ceasefire have been ignored,” the organisation said.

“Even as these negotiations entered the final stage, dozens more Palestinians have been killed in just the past 24 hours as Israeli bombs continued to rain down on shelters.

“We pray this stops now. It’s vital that this agreement is now fully and immediately implemented, and that the initial temporary pause becomes a permanent ceasefire.”

Palestinian celebrations continue following the agreement of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

Other footage shows fireworks being set off in Bethlehem, with the ceasefire set to be in place from Sunday.