The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has lauded the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel as the biggest defeat for the occupying regime.
Brigadier General Esmail Qa’ani said on Sunday that the ceasefire, which came into force that day and brought an end to the 15 months-long Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, was the ‘biggest defeat’ the Tel Aviv regime has experienced in its ‘miserable life’ as it failed to achieve any of its goals.
‘The bloodthirsty, child-killing butchers of the Zionist regime, after 15 months of unrestrained crimes committed against the oppressed people of Palestine, Lebanon and the region, were forced to accept a ceasefire today at the pinnacle of humiliation; this ceasefire was imposed on the Zionist regime,’ Qa’ani said.
At least 36 Palestinian citizens were killed and dozens injured on Sunday morning as the Israeli occupation army continued to attack different areas of the Gaza on the first day of the ceasefire agreement.
According to media sources in Gaza, the Israeli army continued to launch artillery and aerial attacks on civilians after the ceasefire deal came into effect at 08:30am, killing and injuring a number of people.
Meanwhile, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence service, Mahmoud Basal, said that between 08:30 and 09:30, on Sunday morning the Israeli army killed nine civilians and injured 25 others in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
Another Israeli attack on civilians, who had gone to Gaza City to see their destroyed homes, claimed the lives of five of them, while casualties reported, including three dead in an Israeli strike in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Other Israeli attacks on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza also claimed the lives of more people and injured many others.
Earlier, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army not to begin the ceasefire in Gaza at 08:30am until Hamas delivered the names of the captives to be released.
Later in the morning, in a Telegram statement, Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida named the first three female captives set to be released.
‘Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner swap deal, al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the Zionist captives: Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31) on Sunday, January 19,’ Abu Obeida said.
According to the Hebrew media, the Israeli government had already received a list containing the names of those detainees from the mediators.
After Hamas named the three female prisoners slated for release on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office announced that the Gaza ceasefire would begin at 11:15am local time.
The Hamas Movement has applauded the Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip for their ‘legendary steadfastness, patience, and the sacrifices they made during 471 days of Israeli aggression.’
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas renewed its vow to continue defending the Palestinian people’s rights until the liberation of their land and holy sites in their entirety, calling on the world to stand in awe at the steadfast and brave citizens of Gaza.
Hamas also reiterated its commitment to honouring the terms of the ceasefire agreement, which it described as ‘the fruit of its great people’s steadfastness and patience and the valiant resistance’s legendary resilience in the face of the Israeli killing and terrorism machine.’
Hamas also highlighted its commitment to extracting the freedom of the Palestinian prisoners and make every effort to restore the cycle of life in Gaza back to normal.
At 08.30 in the morning on January 19, 2025, the scene in the Gaza Strip was different, as celebrations and joy filled the streets and displacement camps with the entry of the ceasefire to halt the genocide in the Gaza Strip coming into effect.
However, these celebrations were marred by violations from the Israeli occupation army, even hours after the ceasefire began, resulting in the death of 23 and injury to dozens more citizens who were counting down the seconds to the moment when the shadow of genocide would be lifted.
A PIC media correspondent reported that many vehicles filled the streets of the cities in the Gaza Strip, honking in celebration of the end of the genocide, while the calls to prayer from the mosques, including those that were destroyed, rose in volume.
There was an overwhelming sense of joy at the resilience of the people and their resistance in the face of the fiercest war witnessed in modern times by an occupying force to annihilate two million people in a narrow coastal enclave.
Spontaneous marches erupted, filled with chants supporting the resistance and greetings to the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and other Palestinian resistance factions.
The people of Gaza repeated the slogan they had long sung during previous confrontations with the occupation, declaring their unity around the man who announced the ‘Flood of Al-Aqsa’ battle: ‘Place the sword against the sword; we are all men of Mohammed Deif,’ thus expressing their absolute awareness that they side with the option of resistance, regardless of the sacrifices, and despite the multitude of wounds in the body of Gaza, exhausted from betrayal except for the resistance in the Al-Qassam Brigades, Al-Quds Brigades, and other resistance factions, for whom the crowds chanted: ‘Long live the Al-Qassam Brigades.’
The streets of the Gaza Strip, which had suffered explosive rockets aimed at obliterating the resistance, saw the deployment of thousands of security personnel to maintain order in the region, after months of genocide during which these security personnel were the primary targets – however, they did not yield, thwarting the occupation’s plans and paying the price with the blood of their leaders.
In a scene familiar to the people of Gaza, every confrontation with the occupation has become commonplace.
The resistance fighters soon emerged, armed and riding in vehicles through the streets of the cities, amidst a spirit of popular unity.
Citizens also fired off many bullets and fireworks, celebrating the end of the genocide and commemorating the victory of the resistance and the failure of Israel to achieve any of its declared objectives, primarily the elimination of the resistance.
In the alleys of the displacement camps scattered throughout the Gaza Strip, citizens began distributing sweets to the children psychologically drained by the war, whose small bodies were weakened by hunger, and who had paid the highest price for the genocide with their blood and limbs.
They openly declared that today is a day of celebration, and they have the right to celebrate in every way possible despite the horrors they have endured.
In another scene, citizens began dismantling their tents and moving back to their homes, raising signs of victory and Palestinian flags above the ruins of the destroyed residential neighbourhoods. Revolutionary songs rose from the heart of the displacement camps, expressing a state of joy and pride, in a scene that pulsated with dignity and pride.
- The Quds Force chief underlined that the ceasefire deal was the same as that proposed in the previous round of negotiations, but Israel had rejected it.
‘This ceasefire is nothing short of what was put forth in the previous round of negotiations, but the disgraceful Zionist regime disrupted it and gained nothing,’ Qa’ani said.
‘However, the same clauses that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance and our brothers had set, they were forced to accept in this round of talks, and today at 1.00pm the humiliation of the Zionist regime and the biggest defeat it has gone through during its miserable life will be exposed by the grace of God.’
Israel launched its merciless aggression on Gaza on October 7th, 2023, after Hamas-led resistance groups carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
However, the Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve any of its declared objectives, including the release of captives and the ‘elimination’ of Hamas despite killing nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Last Wednesday, Israel was forced to agree to a ceasefire agreement, accepting Hamas’ longstanding negotiation terms.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant ‘for crimes against humanity and war crimes.’
Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take immediate steps to prevent ‘plausible genocide’ in the besieged Gaza Strip, following a case brought by South Africa.
