Richmond expert, advocates weigh in on ceasefire in Gaza

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- World leaders signed a ceasefire agreement on Monday, marking what many hope is the beginning of the end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Under the agreement, the 20 remaining living hostages held by Hamas were released, while 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel were also released.

Experts like Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) international policy professor Chris Saladino say the deal is an important first step toward peace.

"What has happened in Gaza for the last two years, from anybody's perspective, has been horrific," he said.

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Saladino said the agreement comes after years of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, rooted in decades of dispute over land ownership. He noted this is not the first attempt at a peace deal.

"Everybody should be able to claim some victory here," he said.

Adeeb Abed, co-founder of Richmonders for Peace in Palestine, said the agreement gives him a bit of hope -- but it's not without mixed feelings.

"It has hopefully put an end to the genocide that was going on -- and to me, that's to be celebrated and to be hopeful," he said. "But at the same time, [we need] to redouble our efforts to prevent it from happening again."

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The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday that, since these hostilities began, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. It's estimated that about half of the dead are women and children.

"When I see the families, the children, the elderly, the women [who] are killed and their bodies burned and mutilated beyond recognition in Gaza, I see my grandkids," Abed said. "I see my parents. I see my siblings."

Rabbi Dovid Asher agreed that this move inspires hope.

"Today is really a day of great euphoria for the global Jewish community," he said. "We all feel like a part of us [has] been held hostage in captivity … a part of us just couldn't move on."

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That same AP report noted that, in its initial attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. The bodies of 28 Israelis are still in Gaza in Hamas' possession at the time of AP's reporting.

"Now we have a lot of hope that the war might be behind us and that peace can break out between Palestinians and Israelis," Asher said.

However, both Abed and Asher said they are unsure of what the future holds.