It may not be peace as the rest of the world defines it, but it is the best we are going to get for the time being, writes the Mirror’s Defence and Security Editor Chris Hughes
As 20 freed Israeli hostages begin their long recovery and close to 2,000 Palestinian released Palestinians settle back with loved ones, strife in the Middle East is not quite over.
There is the bust-up between Israel and Hamas over a remaining 24 dead hostage bodies still not returned as agreed, and violent retribution – like street executions – are happening in Gaza.
Five more Palestinians have reportedly been killed by strikes inside the Strip, three in Gaza City after crossing the yellow ‘ceasefire line’ and one in Khan Younis and another elsewhere. This is what a ceasefire looks like for Gaza and the surrounding region, pockets of violence, still horrific and shocking but not enough to lead back to war as the tense agreement holds-for now.
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After the euphoria of yesterday’s crowds in Hostage Square and Gazan families celebrating captive returns there is still dark uncertainty about the future for the region.
This may be our last day reporting on the Gaza war for now, having sent dispatched on it and commentary for the past two years and on previous conflicts in the region for many years.
We have in the past been to the northern frontier with Lebanon witnessing the missile exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, seen the Kibbutzes hit in the region.
And in the days following the October 7 2023 Hamas massacres in southern Israel we travelled to some of those Kibbitzes to see first-hand the devastation that sparked the war.
Even as in those dark days the war in Gaza got underway and we saw dozens of Hamas bodies at the Be-eri Kibbutz, being picked up by IDF vehicles, the wreckage of this war was unpredictable.
What followed, a death toll of 1,200 in the south of Israel and more than 67,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza plus the misery of the hostages and prisoners is unimaginably heartbreaking. Lives and families have been shattered across the region.
The mourning stretched all the way across Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and even Iran, where the US and Israel bombed Tehran’s nuclear sites.
Shock waves from the Hamas attacks in southern Israel and the ensuing war on Gaza will be felt for many years but the world is hoping fragile peace will hold.
Many experts I have spoken to believe it will not last long and that Israel will return to its intention of wiping out Hamas gunmen still operating inside Gaza.
The hatred is relentless, the effort needed to soften it is almost inestimable and as we prepare to leave Israel only time will tell if this version of Middle Eastern peace can prevail.
It may not be peace as the rest of the world defines it but it is the best version the region’s leaders, terror organisations and militancy can muster for the time being.