Aya Batraway is an NPR International Correspondent based in Dubai. She joined in 2022 from the Associated Press, where she was an editor and reporter for over 11 years.
As Israel and Hamas settle into the first phase of the ceasefire, residents in those areas are waking up to very different realities after nearly two years of war.
Twenty hostages are released by Hamas and more than 1,900 Palestinian detainees and prisoners are released by Israel as President Trump visits Israel and Egypt to mark an end to the Gaza war.
After the Israeli government approved the first stage of President Trump's ceasefire plan, Israeli forces in Gaza began pulling back to agreed positions Friday.