Palestinians begin to return to their war-ravaged neighborhoods in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Oct. 10.

It has been two years and a week since the bloody terror attacks on southern Israel by Hamas left roughly 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 kidnapped. The attacks prompted an ever-escalating Israeli military response that has killed an estimated 67,000 Palestinians and reduced much of Gaza — a densely populated but relatively tiny strip of Mediterranean coastline — to rubble.

This week, the scenes of devastation in the Palestinian enclave and desperate Israeli families pleading for the release of the remaining hostages have given way to images of at least momentary respite, even joy.

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The initial ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, negotiated by the Trump administration and the leaders of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, is cause for........

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