The news said Israel and Hamas finally sign deal The international community breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as it could mean the release of all remaining hostages long held in unreasonable conditions and an end to 15 months of brutal operations in Gaza.

The first 42-day phase of the ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement will begin on Sunday, when three of the 33 hostages planned to be released will be returned to Israel.

exchange 65 hostages remainingDead or alive, negotiations will take place on the 16th day of the ceasefire. However, the return of these hostages cannot begin until day 43 of the agreement, which marks the second phase of the ceasefire.

Hanukkah candles are lit on the festive table of the Bibas family, an Israeli family that includes 11-month-old baby Kfir, his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their parents Shiri and Yarden, who were kidnapped as hostages on December 1, 2023 On September 9, Tel Aviv, Israel, Hamas hostages and missing persons in the Gaza Strip square. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)

Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Israeli cabinet approves deal signed by negotiators

But the families of the hostages still in Gaza are not yet completely rejoicing. Many are cautiously optimistic about the progress, but others Believe this deal isn’t good enough.

“We have been working on this deal for more than a year and both sides are trying to get the best deal for themselves,” retired IDF Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidrol said in a discussion with reporters Thursday afternoon.

Amidrol made it clear that there was no way to achieve a perfect solution, given the extremely complex situation and the need to balance the value of human life with the achievement of strategic security objectives.

“This is the deal. It’s a bad deal. But it’s the only deal we can get to free 33 hostages,” he said. “And I think, morally, that’s the way to go.”

Amidrol noted that some objections to the agreement have been raised by those who believe that the first phase should include every hostage held by Hamas, while others believe that the first phase should include every hostage held by Hamas. Every hostage. detrimental to Israel’s security.

Part of the ceasefire agreement reportedly includes a plan for Israel to withdraw its forces across the Gaza Strip to safe areas around Israeli communities on the Gaza border.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet in West Jerusalem on January 17, 2025, to approve a ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas. The proposed deal, aimed at ending the ongoing war in Gaza, includes exchanging hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. (Photo by Koby Gideon (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Details regarding the IDF withdrawals remain unclear at this time, particularly as they relate to the various phases of the deal and specific security corridors in the Gaza Strip, but The Times of Israel reported this week that IDF intends to stay in Gaza Strip Until the last hostage was released.

“Israel is losing the ability to completely destroy Hamas,” Amidrol said. “Israel is losing the ability to continue the momentum. What will happen in 42 days, no one knows.”

The retired major general noted that it is unclear what security agreement Israel has reached with the United States on Iran because the terms of the deal have not been made public, as well as the continued threat from Hamas — which despite losing about 80 percent of its estimated military capabilities At least 20,000 militants killed – likely to regroup in Gaza.

With these concerns in mind, the Israeli far right Itamar Ben-Gwir, Minister of National Security This week he reportedly threatened to resign if Israel agreed to the brokered deal.

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“A lot of people don’t like it because it’s clear that Israel is losing the ability to destroy Hamas, as we promised,” Amidrol said. “But we find ourselves in a situation where it’s taking hostages. The only way to get home.”

In Tel Aviv, Israel, the walls are covered with photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip following the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, calling for their release. On Wednesday, conflict mediators announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Formal approval by the Israeli cabinet was expected on Thursday but was delayed until Friday, although mediators insist the deal is still expected to come into effect on Sunday. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Amidrol explained that it is undeniable that once Israeli forces gain ground in the area where the hostages are being held, they will Later assassinated by Hamas guards.

“We knew there was no military way to get them. We had to make a decision, a very hard decision – do we give up the hostages (lives), or do we make a deal?”

John Hannah, Dick Cheney’s former national security adviser and a senior fellow at JINSA Randi & Charles Wax, said it was a “tortuous decision, extremely painful, but one that the people of Israel must make.”

Hanna said that while the decision was “extremely divisive,” polls showed that a majority of Israelis supported the return of the hostages rather than the total destruction of Hamas.

“Hamas will be able to claim that it survived,” Hanna said. “If God willing, Israel will achieve one of its main war goals by returning the hostages, but at the cost of … the elimination of Hamas’s military and administrative branches.”

On November 2, 2023, Israel launched an air strike on the Gaza Strip, sending smoke and flames rising. (Ali Jadallah/Anatolia)

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“The best deal is the one that’s not made,” Amidrol said. “That’s just the way it is.”

“There is no other way to release the hostages, and from within Israeli society, this is very important,” the retired major general said. “Israel is a democratic country and the government should listen to the people.”