Passing the buck

Gaza hostages-for-pris- oners swap bodes well for world peace, at least for now.

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

The Gaza hostages-for-prisoners swap bodes well for world peace, at least for now. Brokered by the United States, the swap saw the return to their respective families the remaining 20 Israeli hostages and the release of around 2,000 Palestinians jailed in Israel. In any armed conflict, any ceasefire moment always helps bring about the desired peace.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is due to return the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.

The latest bloody war began when Hamas-led militants attacked on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed 1,200 people and took 251 captives, mostly civilians attending an open-air concert. This led to Israel’s retaliatory campaign that reportedly killed more than 67,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Israel stood pat that they would not end the war until all the hostages were freed. Thus, the AP further reported: “The war has rippled across the Middle East, with conflict erupting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen and Iran itself... Gaza has been decimated by Israeli bombardment; there is little left of its prewar economy, basic services are in disarray and many homes have been destroyed. It remains unclear who will pay for reconstruction, a process that could take years.”

Yesterday, the Gaza peace accord was formally signed by the feuding sides and witnessed by no less than its chief broker, US President Donald Trump. According to the declaration, the signatories pledged to “pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security and shared prosperity in the region,” and also welcomed “the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip.”