-GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE — OCT. 14, 2025: Haitham Salem, a Palestinian prisoner released from Israeli captivity under a Gaza ceasefire deal, broke down in tears on Monday, Oct. 13, after learning that his wife and children had been killed during his imprisonment. Salem, who had endured years of hardship in an Israeli prison before finally regaining his freedom, tried to find comfort as he scrolled through photos of his children on his mobile phone. US President Donald Trump announced last week that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday. Earlier Monday, the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails began after Hamas freed all 20 living Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip. Phase two calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas. Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,800 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.