Gaza ceasefire deal: Israel-Hamas agreement explained as world awaits release of hostages

This will be a moment of intense relief and joy on both sides of a bloody war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and many Israelis.

But it is tinged with lasting bitterness, nervousness and sorrow for those who have lost loved ones and the road to peace will be long and immensely difficult. Nervousness because a lot could go wrong and both Hamas and the Israeli military will have to show immense restraint to avoid slipping back into the chaos and killing.

Even if there is an occasional outburst of gunfire, and it could happen, leaders will have to order their armed men to wait and respect the agreement from their side.

The whole world is watching this.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer responds to Gaza ceasefire deal first phase - 'profound relief'

READ MORE: Emotional moment Donald Trump tells families of Israeli hostages they are 'coming home Monday'

Will the hostages be released?

For Israel it is hoped 48 hostages will be released, although only 20 of them are thought to be alive and their condition is thus far unknown. Between seven and 15 bodies are believed to have been lost in the mayhem of battle, possibly never to be found - a source of great sadness for their families and Israel as a whole.

This may never be forgiven.

Beneath the rubble of Gaza there are still feared to be some 10,000 corpses yet to be found, adding to the 67,000 Palestinians killed in the two-year war. And this too is unlikely ever to be forgiven.

But for now in Tel Aviv there is measured jubilation as Israel awaits news of the hostage releases expected over the weekend, maybe Monday.

As many as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be released in phases, including 250 who are serving life sentences in Israeli jails. A few hundred will go first, the lists and names already agreed.

Will Israel withdraw from Gaza?

Palestinians trying to survive a brutal war in Gaza will get some relief with a pause in fighting, which as we have said, has raged on in recent days despite the peace negotiations.

Israeli troops will begin a phased withdrawal from Gaza, a tense and dangerous operation which could lead to a flare-up as a military retreat is incredibly difficult to implement without exposure.

The key is the hostage - prisoner releases, with 20 living hostages handed over close to the Gaza border as Israel awaits to see what condition they are in.

Previously released hostages a year ago have been in appalling shape, suffering malnutrition, lice, illness and unbearable psychological scarring from their underground incarceration.

Israel can only hope for the best and trust that treatment and care will give them their lives back after so much intense trauma.

What's the ceasefire timeline?

For now, though, the civilians on both sides - and the politicians including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are praying it is a success.

In the first phase Israeli troops will leave around 70% of Gaza and after the hostage releases, watched closely by the world, Israel will hand over the Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians in Gaza cried and hugged when they heard the news overnight.

There was gunfire into the air, possibly from fighters hoping for a relief from the war, possibly hoping to agree to the condition of amnesty for their freedom to remain in the Strip.

In Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square there is a build-up, a buzz of tension as Israelis await a major announcement - possibly confirming timings of releases at midday.

All of this may happen over the weekend, possibly even Monday.

What's the feeling inside Israel?

Former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin, who helped free ex-soldier Gilad Shallit who was kidnapped and imprisoned in Gaza for five years told the Mirror: “This is definitely a morning for celebration. The war is ending.

“The killing and destruction will stop. The Israeli hostages will be coming home - the living and deceased.

“For Palestinians there will be celebrations with the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians will be able to breathe again.”

As one liberal Israeli told me in Tel Aviv this week: “I do not care what reason President Trump has for pushing this peace plan. If it works and it stops the killing and misery on both sides then I am all for it - and so should the entire world.

“There is a fraught, tense and difficult road ahead for all of us and we need our politicians to show restraint and apply an immense amount of trust in the process.

“I pray that they do - we cannot slip back into that abyss again and we cannot allow another attack like October 7. For now let’s hope for the best.

“If this is what peace looks like - smiling people in Tel Aviv, people hugging and coming together then I will take that forever. We just have to hold the line and not allow the extreme to dictate our future, whilst coming down hard on terrorism.

“Surely after two years we have all had enough of this.”

There is a suggestion that there are guarantees war will not reignite once the hostages are released and this is a huge question.

For now we do not know what guarantees these are and trust runs thin in this region for obvious reasons.