LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We begin in the Middle East.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There are questions this morning about whether a ceasefire deal just clinched between Israel and Hamas will actually begin on Sunday, as hoped. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a cabinet meeting to vote on the agreement. He is blaming Hamas, but the group that runs the Gaza Strip says it is committed to the accord. The two sides have been at war for more than a year. The past 15 months of conflict have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, and left the enclave in ruins. And Israelis have remained distraught and in limbo over the fate of family and friends held hostage in Gaza in the October attack by Hamas that started the war.
FADEL: Here's President Biden announcing the agreement yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I'm deeply satisfied this day has come - finally come - for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war. The Palestinian people have gone through hell.
FADEL: The deal follows months of torturous negotiations, which threatened to collapse many times.
MARTIN: For more on the current shape of this agreement and how people in Gaza and Israel are reacting, I'm joined by two NPR correspondents in the region - Aya Batrawy in Dubai and Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Welcome to you both.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Thank you.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: Aya, I'm going to start with you. This is described as a ceasefire, but tell us what it would actually do. And does it include a path to end the war - not just pause it?
BATRAWY: Well, the key thing is, if this agreement is implemented as it's been announced, it will start with a pause in airstrikes that will last six weeks. And that would begin on Sunday. And in those six weeks, we're going to see a complex prisoner exchange. That would include 33 hostages taken from Israel, including two Americans, released over those 42 days. Hundreds of Palestinians held in Israel, many of them women and children without charge, would be freed. And crucially, a flood of needed food, fuel and medical supplies would enter Gaza. We would also see Israeli troops withdraw from populated areas to the perimeters of Gaza, and that would allow displaced people to return to their rubble and homes - and whatever's left of them - in Gaza City and the north. And all of this is going to be happening while mediators - Qatar and Egypt and the U.S. - are working on the next phases to implement this so that it really, truly does lead to a complete ceasefire. So a lot of moving parts.
MARTIN: A lot of moving parts - very complicated. Hadeel, let's go to you on this. How are people in Gaza reacting?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, well, Palestinians will tell you they've been going through hell, as President Biden said, so this is welcome news for Palestinians in Gaza. But while there is some cautious hope, you know, some say it's too little too late. Airstrikes have still continued since the deal was announced. Just last night, Gaza health officials said 73 Palestinians were killed. Our producer in Gaza, Anas Baba - he's been covering the war since the beginning there - he's been displaced himself several times. He talked to Mahmoud al-Homs (ph) in Deir al-Balah, in the center of Gaza. He asked him why there were almost no celebrations in Gaza last night.
MAHMOUD AL-HOMS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Homs says people are afraid to be happy - that leaders have come close to a deal before, and it always breaks down.
MARTIN: Well, you know, this is a war that the media really hasn't been able to cover as thoroughly on the ground as we would like. Of course, we're very grateful to have our colleague, Anas Baba, there. But do we have a sense of whether other journalists will be able to regain access to Gaza anytime soon?
BATRAWY: Well, international journalists - yes, they've been barred from entering Gaza since the start of this war by Israel. Even if the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza reopens, Israel is the occupying power. It will decide when and who can enter Gaza. And there is no sign whatsoever that Israel will allow international journalists in at any time, or independent investigators, as well.
MARTIN: Hadeel, let's go to you again on this question. Let's turn to Israel. How is the public reacting there?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, to be honest, the sentiment here is not entirely different from that in Gaza. When news broke, for example, last night, our producer, Itay Stern, went to downtown Tel Aviv, where Israelis have been gathering to call for the return of the hostages. And he said the mood was subdued and hopeful. You know, like Palestinians, they're waiting to see the deal actually get implemented. Israelis have felt unsafe. Thousands of rockets have been fired from various parts of the Middle East - Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza. And there's also been frustration with the Israeli government itself for taking so long to get to this point. But most deeply, Israelis have felt pain, and they're ready to heal. Itay spoke to Aya Sharif (ph).
AYA SHARIF: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Sharif says a ceasefire and the return of the hostages will allow the beginning of the healing process for everyone in this country.
MARTIN: Aya, talk about the origins of this agreement. Would you just say more about how it came about?
BATRAWY: Well, Michel, the timing here is everything. You know, we have an incoming president, Donald Trump, who's bringing with him an incoming sense of urgency to get this deal done before he's sworn in. He threatened hell would be unleashed on the region if a deal wasn't secured before then. So this deal - it's been on the table since May, but why now? Well, there are many factors, but among them is the Israeli public has grown exhausted by this war. It's being fought mostly by reservists. They've had more than 400 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza throughout the conflict. And top military figures in Israel have been saying publicly there's nothing more to achieve militarily, tactically, on the ground. Hamas' battalions have all been dismantled. Yes, the group can still fire rockets, but nothing compared to its capabilities before.
MARTIN: And given all the ups and downs in the negotiations, can it still fall apart?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, we're actually all waiting for the deal to be finalized and approved by the Israeli government. You know, Netanyahu is in a very tricky position politically because his government might actually collapse. There are some right-wing ministers who are against the deal, and they're threatening to withdraw from the government. That could send Netanyahu to elections. And then many Israelis also reject the deal because they're against releasing Palestinian detainees and prisoners from Israeli jails. And there's also a small but loud movement to rebuild Israeli settlements in Gaza.
BATRAWY: And as we speak today, there are still talks happening in Qatar being worked out between the two sides, like specifics on the gradual withdrawal and timetable for when Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. There's also a timetable being discussed for the rebuilding of Gaza and reconstruction there. So mediators Qatar and Egypt - they have mechanisms to monitor that this deal is being fully implemented, like the amount of aid that needs to enter Gaza, the exchange of prisoners. But, look, ensuring that a ceasefire holds and continues - that's going to really fall on the shoulders of the Trump administration as the key guarantor here, and they'll do that through diplomacy and pressure.
MARTIN: OK, so let's say things go as planned. What can we expect to happen in the coming days and weeks?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, if we don't have a cabinet crisis in Israel and if all those details that Aya just mentioned do indeed get worked out, the ceasefire is meant to start on Sunday. We'll start seeing some Israeli hostages released, including female Israeli soldiers, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees. And then, negotiators still need to sit back down and finalize the next phases of this deal.
BATRAWY: And, you know, this deal does try to do a lot. But it - what it doesn't do is specifically address some serious questions such as, who is going to govern Gaza from the Palestinian side? Hamas still holds sway on the ground, and it isn't promising to lay down its arms. Will there be Arab and international peacekeeping forces in Gaza? Who will monitor that? And also, how do you begin even rebuilding? You know, yes, Arab Gulf states will pour money into Gaza for reconstruction, but the destruction is overwhelming - hospitals, roads, water infrastructure, sewage systems. And ultimately, this deal does not guarantee the security of either side long-term because it does not address the core issues of a pathway to lasting peace or Palestinian statehood.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai and Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thank you both so much for sharing this reporting.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome.
BATRAWY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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