After 22 months of fighting, Hamas has lost its military capabilities, but it has survived, has obtained the release of prisoners and has restored the Palestinian issue to the center of the world stage
Two hundred and fifty Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences are expected to be released as part of the agreement, out of approximately 290 currently held in Israeli prisons. 22 minors will also be freed. Israel said earlier that senior Fatah official Marwan Barghouti will not be released
Israel's Gaza cease-fire plan moves forward without jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, a central figure in Palestinian politics and a leading contender to succeed Mahmoud Abbas. Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon calls him 'the only Palestinian leader who can unite his people'
'The Smashing Machine' never truly gets under the skin of its protagonist, mixed martial arts star Mark Kerr, but French comedy-drama 'The Marching Band' is all heart
Show no empathy, take no responsibility. Ignore the calls of 'mass murderer' abroad and 'traitor' at home. Undermine the opposition. Flatter the bigger bully in the White House. After all, morals and principles are for weaklings
Despite designating some refugee camps in central Gaza as 'safe zones' for residents evacuating Gaza City, the IDF has continued attacking them on an almost daily basis, killing at least 130 people
Itzik Horn, the father of Israeli hostage Eitan and former hostage Iair, has made sure not to ask Iair questions about his sons' time in Hamas' tunnels. Now the family is praying that Eitan is among the living
Between the need to heal and the duty to remember, between the longing to return home and the fear of renewed danger – a visit to the Gaza border kibbutzim reveals rebuilding and renewal, but also deep disputes and an unhealed wound: the hostages who have yet to come home
Hospitals have developed advanced protocols: accommodations for returnees and their families, treatment for prolonged starvation, psychologica treatment that ensures a continuity of mental healthcare treatment, and above all, a need to give returnees 'a sense of returning home'
For Israel, the war economy may not be over yet. A real end to the fighting would be the best outcome, but it's by no means certain that that's how events will play out
Hamas representatives said that they may struggle to return all the deceased hostages to Israel within the timeline set by the agreement. An international task force for that purpose was established during the cease-fire talks in Egypt
'It's sad we needed Trump rather than our own prime minister,' said a daughter of slain hostage Shlomo Mansour. An American visitor added, 'I may not approve of many of Trump's policies, but no one else had the chutzpah to get these hostages out and end this war'