Gaza faces ‘immense’ challenges rebuilding as Palestinians return to homes in ruins

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Friend of hostage says it’s ‘inconceivable’ he’s still in captivity

Reporting from Tel Aviv

Yonaton Ben-David, 18, and his family share dinner with the family of Edan Alexander — an American still being held hostage by Hamas — once a week.

He told NBC News at Hostages Square that it’s “inconceivable” that his friend is still in captivity and said he “can’t even remember how it was between us when he was over at dinner before this war.”

The signed ceasefire deal has renewed hope among families whose members are still being held hostage, Ben-David said. He later conceded that it is “hard to trust” Hamas, though, on whether this deal will hold.

“It opens up so many things, so many opportunities,” Ben-David said of the deal. “You can’t not be happy seeing these people get freed,” he added.

More than 630 aid trucks enter Gaza in a single day, U.N. says

As the ceasefire came into effect yesterday, more than 630 humanitarian aid trucks began entering Gaza, with half of those entering the northern part of the enclave, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

Aid Trucks Bound For Gaza
Khaled Desouki / AFP – Getty Images

“There is no time to lose. After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering,” Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said.

Fletcher said the delivery of aid is complicated by the “mountains of rubble” and the “unexploded remnants of war.”

“This is a moment of tremendous hope — fragile, yet vital — as we continue to navigate the complexities of the days and weeks ahead,” he added.

Israelis celebrate release of hostage Roni Gonen

Reporting from Tel Aviv

Yael Ben Artzi, 30, was holding a poster of Roni Gonen in Hostages Square on Sunday night, hours after Gonen was released from Hamas captivity as a part of phase one of the ceasefire agreement.

She said today was a “full excitement” and a show of “solidarity,” noting, “everybody is here because she is our sister and she is back home.” When they found out Gonen would be coming home, Ben Artzi said she and her friends “yelled” and “hugged each other.”

Though Ben Artzi doesn’t know Gonen personally, she described Gonen as her sister, as she said she would for any one of the hostages.

“She became part of my family like all the other hostages,” she said.

Ben Artzi has hope the ceasefire deal will hold and said she “never stopped believing” the war would one day come to an end.

What’s next for remaining hostages and Palestinian prisoners

Under the terms of this complex multi-phase deal, hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians in Israeli prisoners are expected to be released in waves, the first of which began yesterday with the release of 3 hostages and 90 Palestinians.

A bus leaves a parking lot
A Red Cross bus carrying freed Palestinian prisoners leaves the Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank this morning.Ahmad Gharabli / AFP – Getty Images

President Joe Biden said in a post on X yesterday that four more women are going to be released in the next seven days “and three hostages every seven days thereafter including at least two Americans in this first phase,” he said

The next release is expected for this Saturday.

Talks for a second phase will begin on the 16th day of the deal, Biden said separately in a news briefing yesterday, which includes “the release of Israeli soldiers and a permanent end to the war without Hamas in power or able to threaten Israel.”

Thailand calls for release of all hostages, including Thai nationals

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the ceasefire deal and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages, including Thai nationals.

Thailand is one of Israel’s biggest sources of foreign labor, particularly in its agriculture sector.

Some 31 Thai nationals were taken hostage during Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Of those, 23 have since been released and two were confirmed to have died in October 2023, leaving six still in captivity.

Gaza health challenges are ‘immense’ as ceasefire begins, WHO says

The World Health Organization said it would implement a 60-day plan to restore and expand the health system in Gaza, saying billions in investment is needed after much of it was destroyed.

“Addressing the massive needs and restoring the health system will be an extremely complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved,” the group said yesterday. “Billions in investment are needed to support recovery of the health system, which will require the unwavering commitment of donors and the international community.”

Destruction in El-Najar Hospital and its surroundings in Rafah city after the withdrawal of the Israeli army
Destruction is left after Israeli forces withdrew from Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza yesterday.Doaa Albaz / Anadolu via Getty Images

Only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, the group said, while almost all hospitals have been damaged or partly destroyed. An estimated 25% of those injured, or about 30,000 people, “face life-changing injuries and will need ongoing rehabilitation,” and the Palestinian enclave is also grappling with severe malnutrition and the spread of infectious diseases.

The WHO said priority areas of focus would include trauma and emergency care, primary health care, child health, noncommunicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health, rehabilitation and mental health. 

Freed Palestinian prisoners are reunited with loved ones

There were scenes of joy in the West Bank as families awaited to welcome the 90 prisoners who Israel freed as a part of the ceasefire deal. The 90 prisoners were released in exchange for the three Israeli hostages.

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