GAZA: Uniformed Hamas personnel returned to the ruined streets of Gaza hours into a ceasefire, defying Israel’s vow to crush them.

After months of negotiations, a ceasefire has paused the devastating war, but it risks collapsing as a result of deep distrust between Israel and Hamas and the multi-phased nature of the deal.

With Hamas back, Israeli forces were withdrawing from the territory’s densely populated areas, but the destruction they left behind was staggering.

The health ministry has put the death toll at more than 47,100, the majority being civilians.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s envoy for the region said on Wednesday he would travel to the Middle East to be part of what he described as an inspection team deployed in and along the Gaza Strip to ensure ceasefire compliance.

Trump envoy says will personally monitor Gaza ceasefire; 10 dead as Tel Aviv continues West Bank raid

In an interview with Fox News, Steve Witkoff also said he believed all countries in the region could get “on board” to normalise ties with Israel. Asked to identify specific countries, he singled out Qatar, saying the Gulf country was a critical player in reaching the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Doha, which mediated the talks along with the United States and Egypt, has expressed hope the six-week truce and prisoner exchange will become permanent.

However, that outcome is far from certain with the releases timetabled at a glacial pace in comparison to a previous truce agreement.

The ceasefire is being monitored by the mediators via an “operations room” in Cairo, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told Al-Jazeera.

He said they are watching to see if the delicate terms of the deal are being implemented — including the entry of aid into Gaza, the prisoner and hostage exchanges, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas and the return of displaced people to their homes.

The ceasefire covers the cessation of hostilities for an initial six-week phase, during which 33 Israeli hostages are to be freed in exchange for 1,900 Palestinians being held in Israeli custody.

What comes next, however, will be trickier to see through.

The terms of a second phase, aimed at bringing about a permanent end to the war and the return of all the remaining living hostages to Israel, are to be ironed out.

Further complicating the ceasefire is the fact that the text of the agreement has not been made public, raising risks of last-minute snags and differences in interpretation by the parties.

West Bank raid

In contrast with the lull in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Tel Aviv has ramped up its raid on areas in the occupied West Bank, with at least ten people killed over two days.

“The situation is very difficult,” Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, told AFP.

“The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp and leading to the Jenin Governmental Hospital… There is shooting and explosions,” he added, referring to the Israeli military.

Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2025