A ceasefire deal has been agreed

[gloriagloria]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3rwqpj70ert

I really hope this is the beginning of peace and prosperity for both sides.

I always wondered what Isreal would do when the last living hostages were back. Netanyahu doesn’t give the impression of being a man who sticks to his word. This must be heartbreaking for the families of all those who have been taken and imprisoned without trial or charge.

The last living hostages are not back. There are at least 20 still in captivity believed to be alive. Two of them were sadistically taken to the handover yesterday and filmed while they watched it, then taken back.

This is just ridiculous

Completely ridiculous. Netanyahu clearly wants to derail the ceasefire.

Along with the refusal to withdraw from Lebanon as per that ceasefire deal, all he is doing is clearly showing the World that the Israeli government is incapable of keeping to any agreement.

He should take a note from Zelensky about where intransigence gets you when the powers that be decide that you are no longer useful.

Yes.

The spectacle that is made on each hostage release or handover of bodies is awful to see. Along with the terrorist attack (where fortunately the timer was set incorrectly) the day after The Bibas family bodies were released didn't help the ceasefire. But let's all ignore that.

Thank you. It's devastating for some people. There are also still Israeli hostages alive in Gaza, who were due to be released when/if the ceasefire progressed to the second stage.

It's awful.

So you think it unreasonable, but what about all of this;

Hamas's cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes. Chaotic scenes in one of the first handovers and the physical safety of the hostages have been put in jeopardy. Hamas had broken the terms of the agreement by not releasing a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud. Hamas refused to hand over the next group of hostages as per the schedule. The body Hamas handed over on Thursday as that of Shiri Bibas turned out not to be her. Shiri and her children did not die as a result of the Israeli bombing but at the hands of Hamas militants.

Do you expect only one side should behave reasonably and the other to be excused of all wrongdoing?

Respect works both ways.

And the appalling film of the hostages taken to witness the handover yesterday. And the recent planting of bombs which would have been a mass terrorist incident if it had not been averted.

Thank you, more revolting displays of cruelty by Hamas that the West ignore and refuses to acknowledge or talk about in case we offend.

Do you really think the 'ceremonies' as distasteful as they are, are justification for the continued detention and refusal to return literally hundreds of 8 individuals seized and held for over a year without charge?

Do you think Hamas's or their actions of the past weeks mean they should avoid any consequences?

Do Hamas give you the impression of being an organisation that' sticks to its word'?

You have no understanding of how many times Hamas has breached the terms of the ceasefire. You must believe the inhumane way of handing over the hostages is inconsequential and should be ignored in preference for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

By the way, the last living hostages have not been returned to Israel. My goodness, how could you not know that?

The cruelty by Hamas has been talked about plenty, I agree it was appalling, that doesn't justify the delay in releasing those Palestinian individuals, if this was the other way around there would be outrage and rightly so, it works both ways

I disagree. It’s more to do with cause and effect. You know, the relationship between two things when one thing makes something else happen. Maybe Hamas and their supporters should have considered that before using hostages for propaganda purposes, displaying coffins, and deliberately handing over the wrong body.

'Talked about plenty'. Well, not for me. I will never tire of reminding the world that Hamas launched a vicious attack on Israelis living near the Gaza border not to break an Israeli-Palestinian impasse which would lead to Israeli-Palestinian peace. No, instead, it decided to launch the attack to regain Palestinian pride, even if it meant the sacrifice of thousands of innocent civilians on both sides with no positive long-term goal in mind for the sake of both people.

It's important enough to keep bringing it up again and again, to remind people like you who use the word 'appalling' to describe the events of the 7th of October and the desecration of three human corpses returned for burial in Israel.

I care deeply about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza and sure as hell wouldn’t be dismissive or minimise their suffering as you have in regards to Israelis with the remark 'Talked about plenty'.

If you are trying to bolster support for the Palestinian cause, then you need to work on your empathy for others who live on the other side of the border.

The public displays are disgraceful, but don’t actually breach the ceasefire as far as I’m aware. Unlike the shooting of civilians by the idf and restrictions on aid (which are now at least partially rectified I think). Is this really a reason to halt the process? The return of the wrong body was horrific but the quick rectification might suggest it was a horrible error - otherwise not sure what Hamas would gain? Both sides need to keep the negotiations going - Hamas needs to cut the public displays and Israel needs to keep its side of the bargain and both sides need to move to phase 2. Any breakdown of the ceasefire will only hurt innocent people on both sides.

When I said it was talked about plenty I was referring to your pp where you stated the West refuses to acknowledge or talk about the atrocities in case they offend, I haven't seen any of that on any of the threads, it's been talked about non stop as far as I can see, if you want to keep talking about it nobody is stopping you? I'm not trying to bolster support for the Palestinian cause, I'm giving my opinion on the Palestinian detainees which I'm entitled to do

'The return of the wrong body was horrific but the quick rectification might suggest it was a horrible error'

My god, stop apologising for the actions of Hamas.

Not sure that the quick rectification suggests it was an error at all. Given Hamas's horrific behaviour every single step of the way I would be more likely to suggest it was absolutely deliberate. Why on earth woukd anyone give Hamas the benefit of the doubt?

They are very keen on displays of bureaucratic efficiency with their paperwork and certificates and goody bags. They seem to know how to target the mother of a specific hostage with a timer. They can find the hostages that they want to take to witness the handover. They can organise carefully calibrated propaganda for every handover. But yeah they got in a bit of a muddle with the body of their most high profile hostages.

Excuses for what exactly? You claim to care "deeply" about the Palestinians in Gaza, if you do then maybe you might agree that there is no justification for keeping innocent Palestinians detained for longer than necessary and maybe everyone can move on with this ceasefire no?

I have never apologized for Hamas and never will. But Israel is acting in bad faith and has done on numerous occasions this first phase of the ceasefire. They clearly don’t want a second phase particularly now they have no real pressure from the US. I fear for the remaining hostages and Palestinian civilians.

Of course they don't want a second phase anyone can see that, I fear for them also

I'm pretty worried about this delay too. 50 prisoners who were going to be released were serving life sentences and 60 had long sentences - so those prisoners have done some pretty horrific things, and will undoubtedly go on to repeat further serious crimes. But that's the deal that was done, and should be honoured.

And at least some of the 445 other prisoners due to be released - who have been detained since the start of the war - will be innocent.

I hope it's a negotiating ploy to stop Hamas cruelties in the hostage handovers. It's ridiculous to suggest that giving the wrong body was a mistake. And bringing 2 hostages to watch the ceremony was another piece of huge cruelty. Some kind of push back from Israel is reasonable.

But I do hope the release goes ahead.