On a day when we have witnessed extraordinary and emotional scenes across this region. For all the despair, all the horrors of the past two years, today was one of unrivalled joy and relief for so many.
Israeli mothers and fathers reunited with their sons. Siblings held apart as hostages of Hamas, finally holding each other tight.
It is hard to describe the emotions of those moments, but it was there for all to see. So too in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where nearly two thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released by Israel.
Donald Trump, this story’s hero in the eyes of many here, rode into town claiming "the long and painful nightmare" of war is over. That his ceasefire deal signals the dawn of a new Middle East. In truth, few here truly believe this is the start of an eternal peace.
And it does not stop the grief for the hostages who didn’t come home alive. Tonight each of those whose bodies have yet to be returned marked with a flag in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.
The pain goes on in Gaza too, where there are so few homes to go back to. But it is also undoubtedly a rare moment for celebration which, in the darkest hours of this conflict, seemed a distant dream.
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