The cease-fire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group held for a third day on Oct. 12, offering hope for a more lasting peace, two years after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
By noon on Oct. 13, Hamas is expected to release the remaining hostages from that attack. Israel, meanwhile, is expected to release 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in the Gaza Strip.
During an interview with ABC News on Oct. 12, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he expected 20 living hostages to be released within 24 hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement released on social media on Oct. 12: “Israel is prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages.”
According to the Israeli government, a reception facility for hostages has been set up at Sheba Medical Center.
The standstill in hostilities came ahead of Trump’s planned trip to the Middle East, where he will meet with hostages, speak at Israel’s parliament, and meet with Netanyahu on Oct. 13. Trump is expected to join other leaders for a peace summit later in the day in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
“We are on the cusp of true peace in the Middle East, really for the first time in my lifetime,” Vance told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Oct. 12.
Vance said it was not the administration’s intention to have troops on the ground but that there are already U.S. troops in the area to monitor the terms of the cease-fire. They will ensure that Hamas does not attack innocent Israelis.
Residents of the Gaza Strip have already started to return home after two years of conflict and devastation in the area. About 90 percent of the Gaza Strip’s 2 million residents have been displaced and more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, with about half of the deaths representing women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. The number does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and The Epoch Times is unable to verify its accuracy.
The United Nations stated that it was clearing roads inside the Gaza Strip for the delivery of food amid a hunger crisis in the territory. Hundreds of trucks with humanitarian aid, including 400 from Egypt, were expected in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 12.
The U.N. World Food Programme stated in August that a famine had been confirmed in the Gaza Strip for the first time, affecting more than 500,000 people. It noted that nearly all of the cropland territory was damaged or inaccessible.
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said on Oct. 10 that “after two years of war, the rehabilitation of infrastructure is urgently needed to enable recovery.” Dujarric said it was “critical that Member States extend generous funding for the response so that the humanitarian communities can scale up.”
The U.N. said it has 170,000 metric tons (about 187,400 tons) of food and other humanitarian aid and 6,000 trucks of aid waiting to enter.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare to destroy Hamas’s tunnels.
“Israel’s great challenge after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas’s terror tunnels in Gaza, directly by the [Israel Defense Forces] and through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States,” Katz said in a social media post on Oct. 12.
“This is the primary significance of implementing the agreed-upon principle of demilitarizing Gaza and neutralizing Hamas of its weapons.”
Netanyahu has thanked Trump for securing the release of the hostages. He also credited U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“I want to personally thank both of you, Steve, Jared,” Netanyahu said. “It’s been long hours. You worked around the clock, but not only worked—I think you put in your brains and your hearts.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
