Palestinians in long walk to uncertainty as ceasefire starts

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza began to return to the ruins of their homes yesterday after the ceasefire rapidly negotiated in recent days between Hamas and

- William Christou,Jason Burke, Seham Tantesh

Israel came into effect at noon local time - the first relief from relentless violence since March.

Israeli troops withdrew to new agreed-upon positions yesterday morning and Hamas is expected to free the 20 living Israeli hostages it is holding early next week, after which Israel will free 250 Palestinians serving long-term sentences, as well as 1,700 others detained during the war.

The hostages for prisoners deal, approved by the Israeli cabinet on Thursday, is the first phase of a US-drafted “peace proposal” announced by Donald Trump last week that has raised hopes of a durable end to the two-year conflict, though all involved recognise the difficulties ahead.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed credit for the hostage release, saying yesterday that the “security of Israel” had dictated his actions in Gaza. “I believed that if we applied heavy military pressure, combined with heavy diplomatic pressure, we would absolutely be able to return all of our hostages,” said Netanyahu, who also thanked Trump for his support. The US president is expected to visit Jerusalem on Monday.

Netanyahu also threatened a return to violence. "Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt the sword resting on its neck and it is still on its neck... Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised... If this is achieved the easy way, so much the better. And if not, it will be achieved the hard way," he said.