Gazans, Israelis rejoice over truce

Deal would free 1,950 Palestinians and 48 Hamas hostages. U.S. will send 200 troops.

- BY NABIH BULOS

CHRIS MCGRATH Getty Images

A TRUMP fan joins the gathering at the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.

After two years of devastating war that killed tens of thousands of people, left millions displaced and pulverized much of Gaza into an apocalyptic moonscape, Israelis and Palestinians celebrated a long-awaited deal to end the conflict, return Israeli hostages and release Palestinians held in prison.

After a lengthy meeting that stretched from Thursday evening into early Friday morning, the Israeli Cabinet approved what it called an “outline” of the deal.

But even before the Cabinet acted, news of the deal sparked celebrations throughout Israel. The pact was greeted with relief and joy in Gaza, where the militant group Hamas said the agreement would end the war and lead to Israel's full withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave and to the entry of desperately needed aid.

The deal caps months of tortuous ceasefire negotiations and delivers a denouement to a generation-defining fight in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Trump on Thursday hailed the agreement as a “momentous breakthrough.” The night before, he posted on his social media platform that the deal would involve the hostage-detainee swap along with the Israeli military’s withdrawal from parts of Gaza — “the first steps towards a Strong, durable, and Everlasting Peace,” according to Trump.

“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS,” he wrote.

The U.S. will send 200 troops to Israel to help monitor the ceasefire, the Associated Press reported.

In Gaza, where Israel's no-holds-barred assault upended lives, erased entire families and brought famine to the enclave, residents expressed cautious hope.

“I never thought I'd see this day. We've been wanting it to come for months now, and then suddenly it happened so fast,” said Ali al-Azab, 34, from the central city of Deir al Balah.