TWO YEARS OF CONFLICT
Two years of war have reduced Gaza to a sea of rubble, with nearly all its 2.2 million people homeless, and caused a humanitarian disaster on a huge scale. It has also reshaped the Middle East through spillover Israeli conflicts with Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.
Near Israel’s Reim camp, where the hostages will be brought to be taken to hospitals, people lined the road waving Israeli flags on which a yellow ribbon – the symbol of remembrance for the hostages – was interwoven with the blue Star of David.
At Israeli prisons, some 1,966 Palestinian detainees boarded buses and most were expected to be released at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital on Monday, an official involved in the operation said.
In a statement on Monday, the armed wing of Hamas affirmed its commitment to the terms and timeline of the deal, contingent on Israel’s adherence. It said Israel agreed to a ceasefire and swap deal after it failed to free the hostages through its military offensive.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X that Israel had approved the delivery of more emergency supplies, and the main UN aid agency working in Gaza, UNRWA, urged Israel to let it work unhindered in the territory.
The conflict was sparked by a Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people in Israel with 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have since devastated Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave’s health officials say.
Israeli critics of Netanyahu, including hostages’ families, accused him of deliberately prolonging the war to placate his far-right government coalition partners, whose backing is crucial to his political survival.
The International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel denies.
