Two years after launching a war against the Gaza Strip, Israel signed a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with the armed group Hamas. The agreement aims to pause hostilities in the devastated territory and raise hope for an end to the brutal conflict marked by widespread atrocities perpetrated by Israeli officials. More than 237,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, injured, or maimed in Israeli attacks.
The agreed-upon deal stipulates that fighting will cease, Israel will withdraw from part of Gaza, and Hamas will release all remaining hostages captured in the attacks that triggered the war. The agreement comes as more than two million civilians in Gaza are facing a humanitarian catastrophe, with famine raging in parts of the territory.
The agreement, signed Thursday, is the first step in a broader framework aiming to end the devastating conflict of the past two years and lay the groundwork for sustained peace and reconstruction in Gaza.
Hostilities between Israel and Hamas will halt within 24 hours of the Israeli cabinet ratifying the agreement. All Israeli hostages believed to be alive must be released within 72 hours of official Israeli approval of the agreement. In return, Israel will release a significant number of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces must withdraw to a mutually agreed-upon boundary and partially evacuate parts of the territory. However, Israel will retain control over more than 50 percent of Gaza for at least the initial phase of the peace plan.
According to the US plan, the first phase will focus on stopping the violence and releasing captives. Then, it will move toward a broader Israeli withdrawal and further prisoner exchanges in subsequent stages.
The plan mandates large-scale humanitarian aid, including the daily entry of 400 to 600 trucks of supplies and fuel for essential services. It also allows for freedom of movement for civilians and permits displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
Later phases may address a complete Israeli withdrawal, releasing the bodies of deceased hostages, reconstructing Gaza, and lifting the Israeli blockade. However, the final terms on demilitarization and governance remain contentious.
As Palestinians and Israelis reportedly celebrated the ceasefire deal on Thursday, UN aid agencies underscored their readiness to deliver humanitarian relief to the famine-stricken enclave.
UN agencies have 170,000 tons of food, shelter supplies, medicine, and other critical items in storage outside Gaza, primarily in Israel but also in the West Bank, Jordan, Egypt, and Cyprus.
Today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that the initial 60-day plan of the humanitarian community prioritizes the restoration of community- and household-level distributions and services â a proven method of reaching the most vulnerable.
Aid agencies are also set to increase their support of local food production, malnutrition screening and treatment, restoration of essential health services, repair of the decimated water grid, and provision of emergency shelters.
News of the ceasefire agreement first emerged on Wednesday at the end of a third day of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt.
Late Wednesday evening, eastern US time, UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres welcomed the announcement of the agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza based on the US proposal.
Guterres also commended the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey in brokering this breakthrough and urged all parties to fully comply with the agreement's terms.
âAll hostages must be released in a dignified manner. A permanent ceasefire must be secured. The fighting must stop once and for all,â the UN chief said.
âImmediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza must be ensured. The suffering must end.â
Guterres added that the UN will support the full implementation of the agreement, scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief, and advance recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
Meanwhile, humanitarians on the ground in Gaza are hopeful but cautious, warning that bombing and shelling continues for now.
On Thursday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher told journalists in New York that the Gaza ceasefire is "a moment of success we must make count" after two years of war.
He said the deal proposed by the US "must be the basis" for lifesaving work throughout the region and outlined a plan to deliver food, medical supplies, water, shelter, and education for millions.
Fletcher stressed the importance of protecting civilians, clearing unexploded ordnance, and supporting children and survivors of sexual violence.
He underscored that sustained fuel, secure crossings, unhindered access, restored infrastructure, and full funding are necessary for aid to reach those in need â currently, only 28 percent of the US$4 billion needed for 2025 has been funded.
âNow is the time to make generosity count,â he said, pledging that aid agencies are ready to act immediately.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), described the immense relief felt by all those impacted by the war, in a statement on Thursday.
The agreement âwill bring respite to people who survived the worst bombardment, displacement, loss and grief for two long years,â he said.
âAfter their excruciating ordeal, hostages and Palestinian detainees will finally join their families.â
Lazzarini stressed that UNRWA has food, medicines and other basic supplies ready to go to Gaza â âenough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months.â
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), underscored the ongoing "dire" needs of patients in Gaza and stated that the agency is prepared to expand its efforts to assist in rebuilding the destroyed healthcare system.
In a statement on Thursday, UN Human Rights Chief Volker TĂŒrk called for the full implementation of the ceasefire.
"I call on all states to work collectively to ensure the ceasefire plan is implemented in good faith," TĂŒrk said.
"All actions going forward must be guided by the immediate goals of ending the killing, starvation, and destruction, and ensuring the safe and dignified return of hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians."
He added that the protection and humanitarian needs in Gaza are massive.
âAccess - for humanitarian aid, humanitarian and protection workers, international journalists and international human rights monitors - is crucialâ, TĂŒrk said.
âThis momentum can and should, with continuing negotiations and a sustained focus on peace, lead to a permanent cessation of hostilities.â
The ceasefire deal is a significant, albeit long-overdue, step after two years of relentless atrocities.
On Thursday, Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), emphasized in a statement that the ceasefire must signal an end to two years of death and starvation.
âStopping the bombing alone will not end survivorsâ suffering. Displacement is widespread. Famine is still spreading. Essential infrastructure has been destroyed,â he said.
âHumanitarian organizations must have full, unrestricted access to bring in food, medicine, shelter materials, and other essential supplies that Gaza has been deprived of for two years.â
Egeland warned against repeating the mistakes of previous ceasefires.
âThis truce cannot be another fragile pause before renewed bloodshed, and Israel must not use it as an opportunity to escalate its military operations and enable settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,â he said.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, nearly 90 percent of Gaza has been designated as Israeli military zones or forced displacement areas, and there is overwhelming evidence that the Israeli government has committed mass atrocities, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
According to UN commissions, international and Israeli human rights organizations, human rights experts, and the world's leading genocide scholars, Israel's actions in Gazaâ including the blockade and obstruction of humanitarian aid â not only meet the legal definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but also amount to genocide against Gaza's population.
âAs part of the recovery, there must also be a comprehensive process of transitional justice, with accountability for the gross violations and abuses of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law we have witnessed,â TĂŒrk noted regarding accountability.
For nearly two years, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected to a relentless escalation of atrocities perpetrated by Israeli government and military officials. The cumulative impact of famine, widespread hunger, and physical deprivation means people are dying every day.
Hunger-related deaths are mounting. According to Gaza officials, more than 450 malnutrition-related deaths, including over 150 children, have been documented since October 2023. However, the true death toll due to the ongoing famine is expected to be much higher.
It is estimated that 132,000 children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, including 41,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Additionally, more than 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 25,000 infants are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition and require urgent nutritional support.
The latest UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report in August, found that over half a million people are trapped in the famine in Gaza, with some 640,000 people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
According to health officials in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed over 67,000 Palestinians, most of whom were children, women, and elderly individuals, and injured more than 170,000 others in attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Among the fatalities are at least 565 aid workers, 376 United Nations staff members, 1,700 healthcare workers, and 252 journalists. More than 20,000 children are among the reported dead, though not all of them have been identified yet.
However, the true death toll is expected to be much higher. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble. Additionally, it is estimated that thousands have died from indirect causes, including starvation, lack of medical care, dehydration, and lack of shelter.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the past two years, some 42,000 Palestinians have suffered major, potentially life-changing injuries in Gaza; one in four of those injured are children; and more than 5,000 amputations have been recorded.