PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A long-awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has an expert in Middle Eastern affairs at the University of Pennsylvania anxious about the next six weeks.
Over that time, about 42 days, Israel and Hamas are expected to conduct an exchange: Some Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will be traded for the approximately 100 hostages still held by Hamas who were taken from Israel during the terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The agreement is expected to go into effect on Sunday. President Joe Biden stated that Americans would be among the first hostages to be released.
“Many of the Palestinian prisoners taken by Israel are also, in a sense, hostages,” said Dr. Ian Lustick, a political science professor at Penn. “They were taken to be able to be traded for the other hostages.”
He says the health of all prisoners is uncertain. The agreement involves Hamas releasing hostages, starting with those still living, and subsequently returning the bodies of those who have died in the 15 months since they were taken.
“We don’t know too much about their condition, either. Especially those who were taken from Gaza,” said Lustick of the hostages. “We can only hope for the best when we see them. I’m sure it’s been a shattering and traumatic experience for everyone.”
Multiple previous ceasefire agreements have failed. Lustick said that Israeli troops are currently facing losses in Gaza, which could explain why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proceeding with further actions.
“Most of the time, it’s been scuttled because Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to add one or another condition,” he said. “Why he stopped doing it this time is unclear, except that the casualties that Israel has been suffering within the Gaza Strip for the last three months have been quite high.”
Lustick said he feels hopeful about the agreement, but skeptical the pause in fighting will not last beyond the 42 days.
“Israel has not made it clear what it wants Gaza to be in the end and who will rule it,” he said.
“There’s a lot of pressure in Netanyahu’s coalition that Israel should again assume formal authority there, but the military and many Israelis are very averse to doing that.”
It will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also will flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into a territory ravaged by 15 months of war. Lustick said he will be watching to see if Israel gets in the way of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza while the ceasefire is in place.