A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
For the first time in seven months, people in Gaza woke up with no Israeli airstrikes overhead.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Today marks the start of the first phase of a ceasefire that President Trump says will be a strong and lasting peace. It comes after Israel's government approved Trump's plan for a hostage exchange deal.
MARTÍNEZ: We're joined now by NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai to explain what's happening. So tell us what exactly the situation is in Gaza with this ceasefire.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: So this morning, A, there was still some confusion. People in Gaza were fired on by Israeli troops when they tried to walk along a main road leading from the south to Gaza City in the north, and it also sounded like this in the center of Gaza City.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE BUZZING)
BATRAWY: That is the sound of an Israeli drone buzzing overhead. But by noon local time, the Israeli military announced they had pulled back from deep inside Gaza to an agreed upon line, and that means the start of the ceasefire. Immediately, we saw crowds in Gaza rush back up that main coastal road again to head back to their homes. But many will find that their homes are gone now. Israel's recent offensive on the city destroyed thousands of buildings, including over a dozen high-rise towers. And it displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Now, NPR's reporter in Gaza City, Anas Baba, also saw police momentarily take position at a main square in the city. That is something Gaza's interior ministry could not do before because they were targeted by Israel and they were seen as an arm of Hamas.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, the releasing of hostages and detainees, when does that start?
BATRAWY: Well, Hamas has 72 hours from when this ceasefire comes into effect to release the hostages, and that began at noon local time, so the clock is ticking on them to release the 20 hostages that are believed to still be alive and any bodies of hostages in their possession. But there are bodies that will need more time to retrieve. Israel also will begin releasing many Palestinian detainees and prisoners immediately after that first hostage release, so we expect these exchanges to happen by Monday.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Probably understandable that the first hours of this ceasefire are delicate times, but skepticism, also, too, whether Trump's plan will lead to a permanent end to the war. So tell us what you know about the details of the deal that was signed last night.
BATRAWY: Well, yeah, and there is skepticism because the two previous U.S.-backed ceasefire deals in which Hamas released hostages were broken, and we saw Israel return to war. But this time, Trump says this deal is about more than Gaza. He says it is about Mideast peace, and he has given his guarantees that with the release of all the hostages, this war will end. Now, NPR has seen a copy of the first page of the deal that was signed in Egypt last night by mediators, Hamas and others. It only refers to this first phase of the deal, which is focused on releasing hostages. But it states clearly that the war will immediately end upon approval by Israel's government, and that vote happened last night in Israel in the presence of White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. But again, this document only lays out details of this first phase of the ceasefire, not what comes next. And that is where there is skepticism and a lot of details to be worked out. Currently, Israeli forces still control over half of Gaza, even after today's initial pullback.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Well - so in the next 72 hours, what are you looking to see?
BATRAWY: Beyond the release of the hostages and prisoners, we're also looking to see if the Rafah border, that boder between Egypt and Gaza, opens up to allow in more aid and heavy machinery, to retrieve bodies, including those of the hostages but also Palestinians buried under rubble of airstrikes. We're looking to see hundreds of U.N. aid trucks entering Gaza to reverse severe malnutrition and starvation. And we're expecting to see President Trump in Egypt and Israel this Sunday, which is a really clear sign that this is his ceasefire plan to see through.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you very much.
BATRAWY: Thank you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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