Well, that’s it then. The hostages are to be released, the Israel Defence Forces will withdraw from Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian war is over. Except Hamas is still armed to the teeth, the IDF will remain in Gaza, and the war is not over.

But there was jubilation in Gaza last night, and dancing and cheering in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, and all justifiably so. Hamas negotiators and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to a ceasefire, the return of the 20 living hostages still held captive by Hamas and the release of at least 1,700 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Israel Defense Forces will pull back to an agreed-upon line within Gaza, and Hamas will hold fire.

The agreement is the “first phase” of an elaborate concordat that goes beyond merely ending the carnage that

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