Recently, Hamas called for a ceasefire in its war against Israel. This move led to a bigger step towards an end in the Israel-Hamas war. Along with the ceasefire, Hamas released twenty of its male hostages to return to their families.
The war began in October of 2023 when Hamas attacked and killed 1,200 people and took 251 captives. According to AP News, Israel’s retaliatory campaign killed more than 67,000 people.
Through Hamas’ step of releasing the twenty hostages, it raised hopes for a deal to end the two-year war between Hamas and Israel. As stated by AP News, The release of these living hostages gave a sense of closure to those who felt they were forced into a war by Hamas. With this Hamas returned four dead hostages to Israel on Monday. There is also a plan to return twenty-four more hostages, as a step towards their first phase of a ceasefire.
Following the release of the twenty back into Israel territory, the Israeli government set free some 1,900 of its Palestinian prisoners. There was a big celebration as both groups of hostages and prisoners got to return home.
U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to the area to celebrate the movement towards the end of the war. In his Knesset Speech, he says that Israeli lawmakers need to continue to work towards peace.
Despite the optimism from both Trump and the public, there are many issues left to be resolved.
