NERMEEN SHAIKH: Celebrations were held in Gaza and Israel Wednesday after the announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a six-week ceasefire and hostage deal. But now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a Cabinet vote approve the ceasefire, which is opposed by some far-right members of Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu has said Hamas is demanding last-minute concessions, but Hamas has denied the claim.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani outlined part of the deal on Wednesday.

PRIME MINISTER SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL-THANI: [translated] Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States are happy to announce the success of joint mediation efforts in order to reach a deal between the parties of the conflict in the Gaza territory to exchange prisoners and hostages and a return to a prolonged truce that achieves a permanent ceasefire between the two sides, in addition to an agreement for the delivery of large amounts of humanitarian relief and aid to the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: President Biden said the deal is based on the ceasefire plan he outlined last May. In recent weeks, the Biden administration worked with representatives from the incoming Trump administration to negotiate the ceasefire deal, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, the last full day of Biden’s presidency.

Under the terms of the deal, Hamas would release 33 Israeli hostages over the next six weeks, with the first hostages being released on Sunday. In exchange, Israel will release a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in Israel over the six-week period. The deal also calls for Israel to pull back its troops from populated areas of Gaza and for Israel to allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza a day.

AMY GOODMAN: This comes as authorities in Gaza say Israel has killed at least 81 Palestinians over the last 24 hours. The official death toll in Gaza is nearing 47,000. But just last week, The Lancet medical journal said the actual toll may be 40% higher.

We’re joined now by Shrouq Aila, an independent journalist and producer in Gaza. Her husband, the journalist Roshdi Sarraj, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in October of 2023. He ran Ain Media, which Aila now heads. In 2024, Aila received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Shrouq. If you can start off by talking about the response on the ground to the announced ceasefire, even though the Israeli government has now put off a Cabinet vote on it?

SHROUQ AILA: Hey, Amy. Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me today.

I’m happy to share this with you today over the news of yesterday, the announcement of the ceasefire. You know, it’s just an announcement. It’s not officially happening on the ground. The effect of this is going to take place on Sunday. But even though, the people here are celebrating. They are happy that there is, you know, a step, a baby step, for their healing process, for going forward, like, in the future, which is, you know, just all about the uncertainty. So, I can tell the feelings here is such a mix of feelings. You can see people smiling and crying at the same time. I —

AMY GOODMAN: We can hear you fine, Shrouq. We can hear you.

SHROUQ AILA: Yeah, OK, OK, perfect. Sorry. The power went off.

So, what I was talking, that all of the people were celebrating and crying at the same time. This is a moment that all of us, like plus-2 million people, have been waiting for this moment, for this announcement. And yet, we believe it’s still — we have, like, two, three days left to be killed, and the bloodshed is not stopping. Since the announcement until this moment, plus-70 people got killed. Massacres are everywhere, especially in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. We hear the — we were able to hear the bombardment that happened in the north even in the south and the central part of the Gaza Strip. Some people in the West Bank, they also hear those high explosions, those high explosions in the north.

But I can tell you that people are happy, and also they are — you know, that mix between heartbreak and relief. So, this is exactly what we are living, because there’s that sense of uncertainty of the future. Nobody knows what the future holds for him or her, especially those who are displaced now and waiting for the implementation of this ceasefire so they can return to their homes, or what’s left of their homes, in the north. So, there is that kind of uncertainty. You cannot guarantee, or you cannot decide what do you want. And it is — I can give it from a personal perspective, as well. I’m part of this society. I’m a story of the stories of this society, as well. But at least we are so grateful that we reached this moment and there is a step forward and there is a ceasefire. And hopefully, it will last more, and it will really be really implemented on the ground.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Shrouq, could you respond, though, to the fact that the Netanyahu government has now delayed a Cabinet vote on the ceasefire? Are you confident that it will still go ahead?

SHROUQ AILA: Like, despite the delays that happens by the Netanyahu’s government, I still believe it will be — it will happen. And we are on the track. And, like, we have seen this before. Like, it happened. That is because of the pressure of the President Trump. And, like, it’s been almost over one year under the presidency of Biden and not having on the ground to stop this madness. But by expecting the presidency of Trump, this is a real step here that we, all of us, are seeing. And the President Trump, he already brought pressure on both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, as well. So, I believe those delays, that Netanyahu is trying as much as he can to get advantage of whatever moment or minute left for him in the government. But yet I think we are on the track, and we are going for the implementation of the ceasefire.

AMY GOODMAN: Shrouq, I want to play an extremely emotional clip. While reporting from Gaza on news of the ceasefire yesterday, the Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif took off his helmet and vest, like you’re wearing, that’s marked “press,” while he was on air. This is what he said.

ANAS AL-SHARIF: [translated] Now I can take off this helmet, that has weighed on me, and also this vest, that has been part of my body throughout this long period. And now we are announcing from inside Gaza, Gaza City, this news: a ceasefire for the citizens and the whole population of Gaza that has faced a genocidal war, has faced bombings, explosions and forced displacement. In this place where I am standing, I will dedicate this to Ismail al-Ghoul, who would be standing here in my place announcing this news. To pay tribute to our colleague Ismail al-Ghoul, we remember our colleague Rami al-Rifi. We remember our colleagues Samer Abu Daqqa, Hamza Dahdouh, and also our precious friend who was always holding the frame, Fadi al-Wahidi.

AMY GOODMAN: Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif soon put his press vest and helmet back on. He then posted on X, quote, “An hour ago, I was documenting the joy of the people of Gaza over the news of the ceasefire, but the Israeli occupation as usual continues to commit massacres and kill joy in people’s hearts,” as he dealt with a number of people who had been killed soon after in Gaza.

Shrouq Aila, as we wrap up, your final thoughts from Gaza in this first period, if this does go through? You’re expressing the thoughts of what most people are saying now, that even with the Israeli delay, that it will go through. The first phase, 33 hostages to be released — three female hostages on day one, four more on day seven, 26 more over the next five weeks; in exchange, Israel will release around a thousand Palestinians and allow the entry of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief into Gaza daily. What this all will mean?

SHROUQ AILA: Well, it means that for us, as we are displaced here, like over 1 million people are displaced in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. And even those who are living in the north, for example, they are already displaced in other parts because of that, you know, the — lots of the evacuation orders that the army issued several times, and they are still issuing this. And they already issued an evacuation order before the announcement in two hours.

So, it is a moment of realization for all of us. Like, eventually, we are getting more close to that moment to be, firstly, accepting the reality of that, that there is another war just waiting for us after this war, because of the — there is a war of insecurity. There is a war of rebuilding, the war of the people who already left us, and the memories that we left, as well. And, you know, like, the majority of the people in Gaza are struggling with the grief, trauma and other psychological aspects.

And I can say that having this step, it will be a real action for us, like, to do something. It’s been like almost 15 months of being on hold, all, everything, like our feelings, our days. Like, I can tell, like today, I’m feeling that I’m getting back to the 8th of October. So, yeah, the genocide started on the 7th of October. We have never seen the 8th of October 'til the moment of the announcement of this ceasefire. So, I can tell that now we are still stuck back with 2023, the 7th of October, and we're like living now the 8th of the October. That means that how time is stopped with those people here because of agony.

They are, like — they are singing in agony and in grief over everything, literally everything. What I mean, like, nobody here has lost nothing. Like, if your home is still standing, your beloved ones, friends, whoever, they are still with you, you are not losing your source of income, but yet you lost your hope in humanity. You lost your — in security, as well. You lost that sense of in security. And let me say that the education in terms of the kids, who already lost two academic years in a row because of the ongoing genocide. So, everyone lost something here. And nobody — like, OK, we are celebrating, but it doesn’t mean we are celebrating out of joy. We are celebrating out of grief, because eventually we will have that moment to break down, to get that chance to deal with our hardships and our problems that occurred during this genocide.

AMY GOODMAN: Shrouq Aila, independent journalist in Gaza. In 2024, she received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, speaking to us from Deir al-Balah.

When we come back, we go to the Gaza-born Palestinian analyst Muhammad Shehada, the former Israeli neogotiator Daniel Levy and journalist Jeremy Scahill. Stay with us.