‘We lost so much’: Gaza cautiously waits for ceasefire as bombardment continues | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip awoke Thursday to the sound of renewed shelling, adding trepidation to the joy they felt at news that a truce had been agreed between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas the night before.

They hope the announcement will spell the end of Israel’s 15-month war that has killed more than 46,700 Palestinians and left thousands missing. But their memories of the war will not disappear anytime soon.

In Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, many people have been displaced from other areas of the enclave after fleeing their homes following Israeli attacks or Israeli orders to leave or face bombardment.

They fought to survive. Many have lost their loved ones and are happy to be alive. But what comes next is still unknown. And with the destruction so evident across Gaza and Israel seemingly unwilling to leave the territory alone, many pitfalls lie ahead for him in the future.

Al Jazeera spoke to people in Deir el-Balah a day after a ceasefire was announced on Wednesday as they await its implementation on Sunday. Here’s what they had to say:

More trauma is yet to come

Nahed al-Wer is a psychiatrist who was displaced with his family from the Bureij refugee camp at the beginning of the war after his home was destroyed. He now works at the Deir el-Balah clinic and also volunteers in his spare time to meet people seeking psychological help for the traumas they went through during the war.

The feeling is very nice. We are so happy. It feels like Eid. Hopefully this feeling will last forever and we won’t see any more bloodshed. We hope that we will not see this again and that we will not have to relive this experience. We’ve all lost people. I lost a brother, a nephew, another nephew and another cousin.

I am concerned that we will see more escalation in the coming days. This is the nature of Israeli politicians. Before they sign a cease-fire or before a truce goes into effect, they continuously try to escalate the killing. The pace of killing is increasing. In 2014, on the last day of the war, I lost my sister and her children.

There is still great concern that the Israeli leadership may abandon the deal, and the pace of killings has increased in the last two or three days, so I pray to God that this does not happen.

After the war, there will be a large number of people who will suffer from very difficult psychological conditions – from the tension and phobias and fears they experienced. It is possible that these conditions and psychological fatigue may even worsen and turn into depression.

There must be treatment for these people. I even had a case a few days ago of an elderly woman whose son had died. She was suffering from serious mental problems and started psychiatry to help her.

‘We have lost many dear and dear people’

Yasmeen al-Helo is a mother of one from Shujayee, a suburb of Gaza City. She was displaced to Deir el-Balah a year ago.

Honestly, my feelings are indescribable. It was a great joy, I cried and was happy at the same time. I cried because of the things that happened to us. It was not easy, and the sadness is great. People’s hearts are wounded. The experience was a heavy burden and very difficult.

We lost people. Some disappeared, some were taken away [Israeli] occupation, and some were martyred. In general, I am happy that the bloodshed and violence will stop, but at the same time I am also sad because we have lost many dear and dear people. But it happened and all you can do is pray to God.

God willing, the ceasefire will not fail and will continue this time. Frankly, I would prefer an immediate ceasefire because these two difficult days are worse than the whole of last year. They want to increase the bombings and madness that they are doing.

Hope for treatment abroad

Mohammed al-Mudawwi was receiving physical therapy for a spinal injury that paralyzed his legs at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis when he said he was taken by Israeli forces and accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel , which he denies. He explains that he was in custody for about a month in January 2024, during which he was beaten.

The treatment was very bad. As a result of medical neglect, I developed ulcers. I wasn’t allowed to move. When they laid me on my right or left side, they didn’t turn me over, and that’s why I got ulcers. My hands turned blue from the constant pressure of the handcuffs.

My health deteriorated due to lack of nutrition. They didn’t feed us. We were blindfolded. We had no idea what they were forcing us to drink. They even cut my feet to see if I could feel them or not. When I started bleeding, there was no need to bandage. I hope that now that I am disabled, they will be able to refer me for treatment abroad.

I am now optimistic and hopeful about the ceasefire. Yesterday I laughed for the first time since the beginning of the war. This moment is wonderful, especially for my children. God, have mercy on the souls of the martyrs.

“We will never be able to forget”

Saleh Aljafarawi is a 27-year-old journalist who was expelled from northern Gaza during the war. He became famous in Gaza for his videos covering the war and says he has received numerous threats from Israel because of his work.

It was a bad experience, one of the worst I’ve had in my life. I will not erase all the scenes and situations that I experienced in these 467 days from my memory. All the situations we have faced, we will never be able to forget them.

But today’s feelings of joy over the end of this war make us forget – if only a little – what we lived through. May God preserve safety and security for us in the Gaza Strip. After the war is over, we will return to the northern Gaza Strip, even if our homes are destroyed and nothing remains of them. God willing, we will restore them.

We have paid a high price in this war. We lost colleagues, we lost families, we lost friends. We have been deprived of the simplest things you can imagine. We were denied to be with our families for 467 days.

Honestly, I lived in fear every second, especially after hearing what the Israeli occupation was saying about me. I lived my life from second to second, not knowing what the next second would bring.

There are still two days left [until the ceasefire]and we hope that God will make it easier for us.