Israeli protesters said on February 15, 2025 they were worried about the future of the ceasefire after a week of uncertainty about the deal between Israeli government and Hamas.
The 43-day ceasefire had appeared close to failure since Hamas on Monday (February 10) unexpectedly announced it would stop releasing hostages, leading Israel to respond with a threat to return to war.
However, after efforts from mediators, Hamas released Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov on Saturday in line with the deal.
The ceasefire's second phase is meant to usher in negotiations to return the remaining living hostages among the 251 seized that day, and complete an Israeli military withdrawal before a final end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza. Negotiations for this second phase have yet to begin.
(Production: Leonardo Benassatto, Miro Maman, Cordelia Hsu)