LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It has been more than a year since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, where Israeli citizens, and some Americans, were killed and taken as hostages.

Since then, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect Sunday morning, Jan. 19. 


What You Need To Know

  • A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday morning, Jan. 19. 

  • For the first phase of the ceasefire, captives on both sides will be released, displaced Palestinians will be able to return home and there will be an increase in humanitarian aid

  • There is relief from both the Jewish community and Palestinian advocates but also reservations around whether the ceasefire will hold

Those in communities across the U.S. and beyond have been reacting to this latest development, including in Louisville.

“We welcome, as a Jewish community, the fact that there are at least 33 hostages that will be released,” said Trent Spoolstra, community relations director for the Louisville Jewish Federation. “There will be a pause in fighting, and we will see what next steps are after that first phase, whether peace will prevail.”

Phil Lloyd-Sidle, a retired minister in Louisville who is an advocate with the Palestine Justice Network, said he feels relief but has reservations.

“There’s jubilation, and at the same time, this anxiety or fear that it truly would not hold,” Lloyd-Sidle said.

Though there has been decades of conflict in the region, Hamas’ attack, where more than 1,200 Israeli citizens were killed and over 250 hostages were taken, sparked an escalation in this ongoing war between two sides.

“It has been a very traumatic, emotional roller coaster for both the Israeli community and the wider Jewish community regarding this war that has taken place,” Spoolstra said.

It has also taken an immense toll on Palestinians. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children.

“There are bodies under the rubble; 60, 70% of the neighborhoods in Gaza have been obliterated, all the hospitals have, all schools have been,” Lloyd-Sidle said. “Medical facilities and medical personnel have been targeted. What exactly the true death toll is… I don’t know if we’ll ever know.”

The first phase of the ceasefire is six weeks long, where some of those being held captive on both sides will be released, displaced Palestinians will be able to return home and there will be an increase in humanitarian aid.

“This is, I think, thankfully a win-win for both the average Israeli and Palestinian living in Israel or living in the Gaza strip to have at least 40-plus days of calm," Spoolstra said. "We’ll see on both sides whether that ceasefire will continue or if the battle will prevail." 

“I and so many others hope, hope that it will begin at least to minimize the carnage, but there is so much work to do beyond this ceasefire as well,” Lloyd-Sidle said. “This is, like, the basic first step but there are years of rebuilding and restoring of Palestinian life to come.”

Negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire will begin in about two weeks.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2024/10/08/the-one-year-anniversary-of-hamas-s-attacks-on-israel