Extraordinary scenes of celebration played out in Gaza and Tel Aviv on October 9 — dancing, clapping, fireworks, celebratory gunfire, tears of joy. After 734 days of war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel and followed by an Israeli retaliation that unleashed death and destruction on a scale that drew widespread global condemnation, there is a long-awaited flicker of hope. Both sides announced Thursday that they had agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire deal. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, clarified that the agreement would take effect only after cabinet approval. The exchange of a number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is to take place within 72 hours of the deal’s implementation. The agreement was announced on so

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