Omg okay so like — it’s totally happening. Israelis and Palestinians were literally celebrating in the streets on Thursday after Hamas and Israel signed this major ceasefire agreement that’s basically, like, the biggest step ever toward ending the two-year war in Gaza. And yes, it’s part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s whole “let’s finally fix the Middle East” initiative.
So under this super high-stakes deal, the fighting is gonna stop, Israel’s pulling back a bit from Gaza, and Hamas is releasing the last hostages — in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Trump was all like, “The hostages should be released early next week,” like, we’ll see.
And omg people are just losing it with joy. After two years of just absolute horror — we’re talking over 67,000 Palestinians killed — this is like the first real light at the end of the tunnel. A Hamas dude in exile, said he got “guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.” Meanwhile, the Israeli government was literally in session to make the deal official.
The plan also includes fleets of trucks rushing into Gaza with food and medical aid because, like, entire cities were flattened. If all of this actually goes smoothly (which, let’s be real, is a big if), this could totally shift the whole Middle East vibe — especially since the war’s pulled in Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon too.
But, of course, it’s not all sunshine and kumbaya yet. There are still messy parts, like who exactly gets released from Israeli prisons. Hamas wants freedom for major Palestinian figures, not just random detainees. And Trump’s famous “20-point plan”? Yeah, not all of it’s been figured out — like, who’s gonna run Gaza after this and what happens to Hamas itself.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting so much pushback from his far-right coalition partners. Israel’s National Security Minister literally threatened to bring down the government if Hamas isn’t totally dismantled. Dramaaa.
Still, people are celebrating like never before. Someone literally said, “I can’t breathe, I can’t explain what I’m feeling… it’s crazy.” Like, pure emotional overload.
There were still some attacks before the official ceasefire kicked in but even that was less than the daily chaos people have been enduring. On the ground, there were signs of Israel starting to pull back — soldiers blowing up empty posts and using smoke grenades to cover their movements.
The ceasefire is supposed to kick in within 24 hours of Israeli approval, and then the hostages should be freed within 72 hours after that. About 20 Israeli hostages are still alive, 26 are presumed dead, and two are just… unknown. Hamas even said recovering the bodies could take time.
Trump’s apparently planning to fly to the region on Sunday and Netanyahu’s peeps even invited him to address Israel’s parliament. Trump, obviously thrilled, called it a “momentous” deal and said he hopes it brings “everlasting peace.”
Arab and Western countries are backing it too, and like, everyone’s calling it this huge diplomatic win for Trump. His team were literally in Jerusalem during the cabinet meeting to ratify it.
Netanyahu called it “a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.” But his far-right allies are still, like, “Nah, Hamas must be destroyed.” Finance Minister made that crystal clear.
The war, btw, started when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages — and since then, Israel’s military response has killed tens of thousands in Gaza.
So yeah, this ceasefire? It’s historic. It’s emotional. It’s super complicated. But for now? People are dancing in the streets.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
Where peace signs and fireworks finally replace rockets in the sky
