Suzanne Potter, producer/reporter, California News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Leaders of California’s Jewish and Muslim communities say they’re relieved that Israel and Hamas have taken the first steps toward ending their brutal war in Gaza. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas has agreed to release an initial batch of 33 hostages, and Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian detainees and implement a ceasefire.
Concerns remain for hostages
Joy Sisisky, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund of the Bay Area, said she remains concerned about the 65 hostages who will still remain captive after this first six-week phase of the agreement.
“Even the return of all of the hostages is not the end, because they’ve been held in captivity, many of them for 467 days, and that there is a long road to recovery for not just the hostages but for their families, for their friends, and for many of us here too, who consider them like friends and family,” she contended.
Many Californians have personal connections to the conflict, on both sides. The war started when Hamas militants crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 more. Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza has killed approximately 46,000 Palestinians.
Teams from the Biden administration and the Trump camp worked together to press both sides to agree to a deal.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations San Francisco, said the ceasefire announcement is bittersweet because it is so long overdue.
“Right now, the international community needs to prioritize accountability, upholding human rights, and providing urgently needed relief to the people in Gaza and the West Bank who have suffered incomprehensibly for more than a year now,” Billoo said.
The second phase of the deal would see Israel withdraw from Gaza, as Hamas releases all remaining hostages. The third phase would address reconstruction.
