‘Joy without measure’: Celebrations in Gaza for the start of the long-awaited ceasefire | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Celebrations broke out across the Gaza Strip after the long-awaited ceasefire it came into force after 15 months of war that reduced much of the coastal Palestinian enclave to rubble.

The ceasefire came into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed over the list three female prisoners to be released as part of a brokered deal with Israel.

“My joy is immeasurable,” said Om Salah, a resident of Gaza.

“From the moment they announced the ceasefire, I quickly packed all my things because I’m ready to go to Gaza. My children are extremely happy to go and see our families, relatives and our country,” she told Al Jazeera.

“Here we are always scared and worried, but back home we will be very happy and joy will return to our lives.”

A young Palestinian said, “Everyone is happy, especially the children.”

“Let’s hope that the Israelis will not violate it [ceasefire] in the next few days,” he told Al Jazeera.

He said that all he wants now is to finish his education. “There were a lot of dreams destroyed during this genocide.”

Gaza health workers and rescuers were also seen celebrating in the streets. Videos shared online, confirmed by Al Jazeera, show several civil protection teams singing national anthems and holding up victory signs.

Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud, who was reporting outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said “there have been no reported violations since the ceasefire came into effect.”

“There were no more bombs, fighter jets and drones. The only sound of gunfire we hear is from the celebrations in the streets – there are frequent gunshots and fireworks,” he said.

Before the ceasefire came into effect, Israeli forces killed at least 19 more Palestinians and wounded dozens of others on Sunday, taking into account the total number of dead in 15-month genocide to almost 47,000. Palestinian and human rights groups say the actual death toll could be much higher.

At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during attacks led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and about 250 were captured.

‘I have to go back’

Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud reported that in the hospital yard where he was reporting from, Palestinian families began to dismantle their tents and return to their homes that had been forced to evacuate due to relentless Israeli bombardment.

“Here we witness families excitedly gathering their belongings – everything they managed to collect during their stay in the hospital. There is so much excitement on their faces as they leave the hospital doors,” he added.

Anwar, a displaced Palestinian living in Khan Younis who did not give his last name, said he hoped to return to Rafah despite reports that his home had been destroyed.

“I will go there and make sure I find a place where I can set up a tent to live with my family of eight,” he told Al Jazeera. “I have to go back to my city. I have to go back to where I was born.”

Anwar said the months of war were like a “nightmare”. “It was literally a nightmare, as if we were [were] dreaming and then we got up again,” said Anwar.

He said he and his family lived in flimsy tents without enough food and water, and the prices of goods were “frighteningly high”.

Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary, reporting from Khan Younis, said Palestinians from the southern city of Rafah described the destruction there as “enormous”. “They didn’t even understand where their quarters were,” she added.

Regardless, she said people are also “very happy.”

“You see everyone smiling, you see everyone singing, and most Palestinians are saying, ‘We got out of this war alive,'” she added.