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Monday, February 17, 2025

Needed humanitarian aid flows into war-lashed Gaza

JERUSALEM – The Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered a third day Tuesday, while US President Donald Trump said he doubted the fragile deal would hold.

Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into war-battered Gaza after Israel and Hamas conducted the first exchange of hostages for prisoners agreed under the terms of the ceasefire.

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Gazans displaced by more than 15 months of war have been walking through an apocalyptic landscape to return to whatever remains of their homes, while rescuers trawl the rubble for bodies.

“Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Trump said as he signed a flurry of executive orders following his inauguration.

Asked whether he believed the two sides would maintain the truce, Trump said: “That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident.”

Trump had claimed credit for the three-phase ceasefire agreement announced ahead of his return to the White House by Qatar and the United States, following months of fruitless negotiations under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Trump has made clear he would support Israel, and in one of his first acts as president, he revoked sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by the Biden administration over attacks against Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas both congratulated Trump on his return.

“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said.

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