Up First from NPR
The Contours of a Ceasefire in Gaza, Preventing Future Wildfires In LA
Thu, 16 Jan 2025
Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause fighting after 15 months of war. What's in the current ceasefire deal President Biden announced Wednesday, and how are people in Israel and Gaza reacting to it? Plus, Los Angeles has some of the strictest wildfire rules in the country. Why weren't they enough to prevent catastrophe?For more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Neela Banerjee, Jerome Socolovsky, Ally Schweitzer and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, Iman Ma'ani and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What led to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas?
After 15 months of war, Israel and Hamas have agreed for it to stop, at least temporarily.
Because at long last, I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached.
What is in the deal? I'm Leila Fadl with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. People in Gaza and in Israel say they're cautiously hopeful that this deal could end the war and return hostages home. But what comes next in a Palestinian territory where so much is now rubble? Who governs? Who rebuilds?
And Los Angeles has some of the toughest rules in the country to deal with the threat of wildfires. Why weren't they enough to prevent the ongoing catastrophe? Stay with us. We've got news you need to start your day.
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Chapter 2: What are the immediate implications of the ceasefire for Gaza?
I'm going to start with you. This is described as a ceasefire, but tell us what it would actually do. And does it include a path to end the war, not just pause it?
Well, the key thing is, if this agreement is implemented, as it's been announced, it will start with a pause in airstrikes that will last six weeks, and that would begin on Sunday.
And in those six weeks, we're going to see a complex prisoner exchange that would include 33 hostages taken from Israel, including two Americans released over those 42 days, hundreds of Palestinians held in Israel, many of them women and children without charge, would be freed. And crucially, a flood of needed food, fuel, and medical supplies would enter Gaza.
We would also see Israeli troops withdraw from populated areas to the perimeters of Gaza, and that would allow displaced people to return to their rubble and homes and whatever's left of them in Gaza City and the north. And all of this is going to be happening while mediators, Qatar and Egypt and the U.S., are working on the next phases to implement this so that it really truly does lead to
a complete ceasefire.
So a lot of moving parts. A lot of moving parts, very complicated. Hadia, let's go to you on this. How are people in Gaza reacting?
I mean, well, Palestinians will tell you they've been going through hell, as President Biden said. So this is welcome news for Palestinians in Gaza. But while there is some cautious hope, you know, some say it's too little too late. Airstrikes have still continued since the deal was announced just last night. Gaza health officials said 73 Palestinians were killed.
Our producer in Gaza, Enes Baba, he's been covering the war since the beginning there. He's been displaced himself several times. He talked to Mahmoud Al-Hums in Deir el-Balah in the center of Gaza. He asked him why there were almost no celebrations in Gaza last night. Hon says people are afraid to be happy, that leaders have come close to a deal before, and it always breaks down.
Well, you know, this is a war that the media really hasn't been able to cover as thoroughly on the ground as we would like. Of course, we're very grateful to have our colleague Anas Baba there. But do we have a sense of whether other journalists will be able to regain access to Gaza anytime soon?
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