A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. First phase of the peace agreement

On Wednesday evening, talks between Israel and Hamas ended in Egypt. After agreeing on the terms of the first phase of the US peace plan for Gaza, the Israeli government approved it on Thursday. According to the signed document, armed action is to cease. Israeli troops will retreat within 24 hours to a fixed location within the Gaza Strip. Hamas has pledged to release all the surviving kidnapped and release the bodies of the killed hostages. Israel will release imprisoned and detained Palestinians.

In the second phase of the 20-point peace plan, Hamas will be disarmed, the transfer of power to the Gaza Strip to the Interim Administration under global supervision, and the start of reconstruction of the destroyed areas. Negotiations on details will begin after the exchange of hostages.

The war in the Gaza Strip began on 7 October 2023 with an attack by Hamas. In retaliation, Israeli forces carried out a massive offensive. The conflict in terms of scale and degree of harm is among the top in history. According to a fresh survey by the Ministry of wellness of Gaza, about 60,000 people lost their lives in Israeli-Palestinian clashes.

Despite the agreement reached and the approval of both sides of the end of the armed action, experts stress that the way to a lasting peace will be hard and long.