As news of the long-awaited cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas circulated Wednesday night, many thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip did not hold back: they took to the dark, bombed-out streets, cheered, sang, cried and shot in the air in celebration.
But for most, the joy that gripped Gaza the expected end to the devastating 15-month war — the deadliest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — is mixed with grief over death, destruction and the realization that their lives can never be the same.
“People are very happy,” said Shifa al-Ghazali, a mother of four young children in Gaza City who lost her husband, mother, brother and two uncles in the war. “I [too] I am optimistic despite my pain.”
“We have lost everything, including loved ones, but it is time for this flood of blood to stop,” said Nidaa Aita, a businesswoman who has been living for months with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in a congested tent city on a windy beach in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi.
“My house in the city of Gaza was bombed and destroyed, but I am happy to return and live in its ruins. I can’t believe we’re finally going home. I have been displaced 14 times.”
The plight of Gazans, who have been living under heavy Israeli siege and bombardment since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on the Jewish state, which officials say killed 1,200 people, has reverberated around the world.
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military bombing and ground incursions, according to officials, and many people have yet to come to terms with the devastating loss of multiple family members.
With much of Gaza reduced to rubble, some 1.9 million of the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many repeatedly. Health authorities in Gaza say there are thousands more uncounted bodies under the rubble.
Most of the displaced sought refuge in Al-Mawasi, which Israel has declared a “humanitarian zone” but is still the occasional target of deadly Israeli firepower.
In what has become known as the “City of Orphans” – a camp in Al-Mawasi for families whose breadwinners have been killed – organizer and teacher Mahmoud Kalakh said news of the ceasefire was greeted with joy as people shouted and sang.
“People are so glad this nightmare is over. . . but it is mixed with deep sadness. Because as soon as the war ends, a new bleeding will begin – the bleeding of pain and loss,” Kalakh said. “Everyone here lives the same pain, everyone has lost their fathers or mothers. . . but when people start coming home, the real feelings of loss and agony will begin.”
After consulting with the families – about 3,000 people are housed in the camp – Kalakh said they decided to leave the “City of Orphans” open because many had nowhere to go.
Mohammad, a 14-year-old boy in another camp, lost his mother and father in an Israeli bombardment. “We hope the war will end so we can continue our lives and just do normal things,” said Mohammad, whose leg was amputated due to a war injury. “I personally want to play football.”
The truce, which should begin on Sunday with an initial six-week ceasefireit is expected to finally bring relief to both parties. The Israelis hope this will lead to the release of all 98 remaining hostages who have been held in Gaza since October 7, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
For the residents of Gaza, it is an opportunity to start addressing the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the enclave. There has been no electricity since the war began, and the health system has collapsed under frequent attacks by Israeli forces who say Hamas militants are hiding in hospitals.
Israeli restrictions on aid convoys have also led to severe shortages of fuel, food and warm clothing, and UN officials say many, especially in the cut-off north, have been on the brink of starvation for months. As part of the deal, Israel is required to deliver 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to the Strip per day.
Yet the catharsis was tinged with deep uncertainty about how much relief Gazans could expect. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday postponed a cabinet meeting to approve the deal, after under pressure from extreme right-wing members of his coalition who oppose the deal.
And when the ceasefire takes effect, negotiators will have to finalize a second – and potentially third – phase of the deal to permanently end the war and, in theory, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip.
Israel also stepped up its bombardment of the Strip before Sunday, and Palestinian health authorities reported on Thursday that 77 people had been killed and around 250 wounded in attacks since the ceasefire was announced.
Across Gaza, a major rebuilding job awaits, with millions of tons of broken concrete littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clean up, UN officials said.
Om Ahmed, a mother of three who lived with her husband in Al-Mawasi, was displaced from Jabaliya, a once bustling northern city of 200,000 people turned into ruins by an intense Israeli military operation that has been going on since October. She planned to return even though her home was gone.
“They say there will be tents or caravans where we can live,” she said. “We don’t know if things will improve and if we will stay safe or if something bad will happen. Only God knows. It was difficult here because we have no money, but now all that matters is peace.”
Fedaa Zeyad, a writer who was displaced with her family from Gaza City, said she was also looking forward to returning north to search the ruins of her home for any memory of her late mother.
Zeyad also wants to be reunited with her sister, a doctor who she said is currently under siege by Israeli forces in a hospital in northern Gaza. “After I meet my loved ones, all I want to do is sit on the beach and look at the sea,” she said. My only hope now is that this nightmare will end.
Cartography by Aditi Bhandari
