Cease-fire agreement leads to joy—and hope and caution for peace in the Middle East

Women react as people gather at “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 13, the day Hamas released hostages, who had been held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. (OSV News photo/Shir Torem, Reuters)

(OSV News and CNS) -- Scenes of joy, relief and tearful reunions flooded media across the world on Oct. 13 as the remaining Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was the “dawn of a new Middle East” in remarks before the Israeli parliament on Oct. 13 after Hamas freed what are believed to be all of its living hostages and as Israel released Palestinian prisoners in a preliminary agreement on the White House’s ceasefire deal.

“This is not only the end of the war, this is the end of an age of terror and death, and the beginning of the age of faith, of hope, and of God,” Trump told Israel’s Knesset.

In advance of the release of the living hostages, Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 12 highlighted the new peace deal, saying “the agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land.”

“I encourage the parties involved to continue courageously on the path they have chosen, toward a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” the pope said.

“Two years of conflict have caused death and destruction throughout the land, especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, parents, friends and possessions. With the entire Church, I am close to your immense pain.

“The gentle touch of the Lord is directed especially toward you today, in the certainty that even amidst the deepest darkness, he always remains with us.”

As part of the U.S.-proposed deal, 250 Palestinian prisoners were also released by Israel, with 1,650 more to be freed.

The remains of some of the deceased hostages were transferred to the custody of the Red Cross. Hamas released just four of the deceased, prompting some anger from advocates of the hostages’ families and concern about Hamas following through on their commitment to do so.

Starting his speech to the Knesset, Trump said, “We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith, and above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

During his remarks, Trump added, “This long and difficult war has now ended,” although many details of a long-term plan remain subject to negotiation.

“Israel has won all that can be won by force of arms,” he said. “Now, it is time to translate these victories … into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”

Addressing the Knesset before Trump spoke, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in English and turning to the U.S. leader, said: “Two weeks ago, you succeeded in doing something miraculous. You succeeded in doing something that no one believed was possible.”

“You brought most of the Arab World —most of the world—behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war,” he said, thanking the U.S. president.

Minutes before Trump addressed the Knesset, Joseph Hazboun of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission (CNEWA) spoke to OSV News and said that, with the deal reached, he was “very happy at long last” but “not optimistic enough to say” it’s “a peace agreement” but “a ceasefire.”

“This is the day that we’ve been waiting for for two years,” said Hazboun, regional director for CNEWA-Pontifical Mission’s Jerusalem office.

“The people that were ordered to evacuate and move all around the Gaza Strip several times are finally going back to their ... areas of residency,” he said. “I’m not sure what they will find there—probably the ruins of their homes, but at least they will be safe. There is no more bombing from air or from the sea or from the land.”

Hazboun, who spoke to OSV News from Jerusalem, said that Trump “deserves the credit for putting an end to the war” as he “basically informed Netanyahu he has to stop. And now Trump is the guarantor of the end of the war.”

He also warned that with earlier attempts to stop the war, the parties “on several occasions shifted position for whatever reason,” therefore in the Holy Land, “we have our hands on our hearts praying that this agreement will last.”

Now, Hazboun said, all eyes are on Gaza, where tens of thousands began to make their way back to their homes, or what’s left of them.

Many Palestinians returned to see only mostly rubble left, with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Gaza City’s Catholic parish, saying the entire enclave has experienced a “tsunami” of destruction.

Asked about the Christian community sheltering in the Holy Family Parish and St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church compound, Hazboun said they will for now “remain in the church compound, because most of them, they lost their homes and their apartments.”

However, Hazboun said, “people will have the freedom now to go and check on their homes,” but “it will take time” to see “who has his home or his apartment intact and can move back, who has minor destruction, who has full destruction.”

What gives people a sense of relief is that “there is no more bombing around them,” he continued, but at the same time “there is no infrastructure, there is no electricity, there is no water, there is no sewage” and “life is going to be complicated for the coming period.”

Hazboun said CNEWA staff was given instructions “to start asking, inquiring about what are the immediate needs as far as maybe not food, but maybe water, probably medicine, medical aid, medical supplies—all remains to be seen.” †