Gazans Celebrate Word of Israel's Possible Deal with Hamas - The Thursday AM Quickie 10/9/25
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10/9: Sam will be hosting solo; the guests will be Evan Simko-Bednarski, documentary photographer and transit reporter for the New York Daily News, discussing effort's by the paper's News Union to secure fair wages following a private equity acquisition; and Josh Orton, former Democratic political strategist and new president of Demand Justice, a progressive legal advocacy organization.
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THE BIG NEWS
Israel and Hamas Agree to 'First Phase' of Peace Deal
After two years, there is not much of Gaza left. Tens or hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are dead. Some 55,000 children under age five are acutely malnourished because Israel has refused to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, a policy of enforced famine that's of a piece with its campaign of what the United Nations and international rights groups call a genocide. But if you believe Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the leaders of Hamas, a new chapter is beginning.
Trump yesterday announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first steps of a deal to end Israel's war in Gaza: an exchange of surviving Hamas hostages – Trump claims "ALL of the Hostages" – for a specific list of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Netanyahu praised Trump, without confirming any of the steps Israel has supposedly committed to. Hamas released a statement saying the deal would bring "an end to the war on Gaza, the occupation’s withdrawal from it, the entry of aid and a prisoner exchange."
Many, many details about Gaza's future remain on the table. But UN Secretary-General António Guterres struck an optimistic tone, saying the UN "will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief." And, per Al Jazeera, celebrations broke out in Gaza on word of the agreement, even though previous deals fell apart, frequently due to sabotage by Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet. In Israel, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it welcomed the news "with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and concern."
We'll surely know more in the days and weeks to come. But no one should be faulted for optimism after so much unnecessary death and destruction. Indeed, it's a blessing that people are still capable of it.