The bombs stop thundering over Gaza and the Palestinians begin to return to the devastation.

Special envoy to the Gaza borderSilence. This is what we feel for the first time in seven months from the Gaza border. No explosions, no roar of fighter jets and helicopters, no roar of cannon fire. Only the drone of some drone. The sky, clear of smoke. On the other side of the fence with which Israel cages the Strip, we can see the devastated land after two years of indiscriminate bombing. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia are mountains of black rubble, scorched earth. In the background, Gaza City can be seen, where some tall buildings still stand. At twelve noon, the ceasefire went into effect, and the Israeli army withdrew to the yellow line marked on the maps of Trump's plan, and has withdrawn from 47% of Gaza's territory. However, Netanyahu has made it clear that he intends to keep his troops inside Gaza until Hamas has disarmed.

Dusty roads with rubble-strewn sides have filled with streams of people. Even before the truce began, thousands of Gazans who had been displaced to the south of the Strip by the bombing set out to return north, knowing that nothing remains of their homes. "My older children left at noon, and when they have been able to set up their tents, we will go with the children," Najwa Alnaj, a kindergarten teacher in Jabalia, tells ARA by phone. "We are very happy that the war and the genocide that Israel is perpetrating against our people are over. But Trump's plan legitimizes the occupation and imposes international and Arab regime tutelage over Gaza, robbing us of our right to liberate ourselves," she emphasizes. An estimated 700,000 displaced people are waiting to return to the north.

Now the countdown begins for Hamas, which must release the hostages by Monday at noon. However, Israel is confident it will do so sooner. According to the Israeli press, of the 48 hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, 20 are alive, 26 are dead, and the fate of two remains unknown. These hostages will be exchanged for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, whose names have not yet been made public. Among them are 250 officials serving long sentences for violent crimes and 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained without trial and are not linked to the October 7 attacks.

With the worst hunger crisis on the planet Caused by seven months of almost complete border closure, Israel has been slow to admit humanitarian aid into the Strip. This Friday, the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for goods from Israel to Gaza, was completely deserted. As of Sunday, the 8,000 trucks carrying food, tents, fuel, and medicine that have accumulated on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing will not be able to enter, with 600 arriving daily, always subject to strict Israeli control. In recent months, the UN and NGOs have only been able to deliver 20% of the necessary aid to the Gaza Strip, according to UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

An hour after the army announced the entry of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the citizens with a televised address. "We are cornering Hamas from all sides, to prepare for the next stages of the plan in which Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized," he said. "If we achieve this by fair means, perfect. If not, we will achieve this by foul means," he threatened, suggesting a possible return to war. Hamas reiterated its unwillingness to disarm: "Our weapons will only be handed over to a Palestinian state, and our fighters can be integrated into the Palestinian national army," said Basel Naim, a senior leader of the Islamist organization, on Friday.

Trump will be cheered in Israel

This is the great uncertainty of the process initiated by Trump. If the first phase of the ceasefire succeeds (exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, withdrawal of Israeli troops, and entry of humanitarian aid), a new situation will begin, unprecedented until now. The question is what Israel will do, which has already note the fatigue of war, when it no longer holds hostages inside Gaza. Hamas has said it has obtained written guarantees from mediators and the United States that Israel will not resume the genocide, but it is clear that Netanyahu has been forced by Trump into an agreement he did not want. In fact, according to Israeli press reports this Friday, the president himself called Sharm al-Sheikh while the negotiating teams were meeting to personally assure Hamas that if it releases the hostages, the war will be over.

In any case, if this first phase is overcome, extremely complicated negotiations will begin, and both sides will enter with opposing positions. Hamas wants Israel to withdraw completely from the Strip and for reconstruction to begin under a technical Palestinian government, where it has agreed not to be represented, as a first step toward establishing a unified government in Gaza and the West Bank that would lead to a Palestinian state. Netanyahu wants Hamas to disarm and for Gaza to be placed under Trump's tutelage, controlled by international troops. Trump wants to turn the Strip into a giant casino. Perhaps the ceasefire will work, but what happens next is, for now, a big unknown.

The US president will arrive in Israel on Monday to enjoy a mass gathering. On the outskirts of Tel Aviv, a skyscraper sports a huge billboard with Trump's picture and the slogan"Thank you Mr. PresidentIn the end, he will have been the architect of the hostages' release, and that's why he's been invited to deliver a speech before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. He will be the first American leader to do so since George Bush's speech in 2008, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding. The signing of the Gaza agreement will take place in a ceremony. Trump won't have won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, but he's already racking up points for next year's award.