‘We have been waiting a long time’
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said 17-year-old Sanabel. “Finally, I can rest my head on the pillow with confidence.”
She was one of millions of Palestinians across Gaza celebrating a ceasefire that the United States and mediator Qatar said Israel and Hamas reached on Wednesday after 15 months of war.
The first phase of the deal, which will take effect on January 19, will see Israeli troops withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. Hundreds of aid trucks will also be allowed into the area each day.
The people of Gaza expressed their joy and relief, but also their sadness and concern, as they mourned their dead relatives and began to rebuild the territory after more than a year of destruction.
After news of the ceasefire broke, Sanabel, who was in Gaza City, told BBC World Service: “Finally! We got what we wanted! Now we are all happy!”
She said her family planned to ride home in her father’s newly restored car “in the middle of the night.”
Qatar and the United States have both confirmed ceasefire and hostage release deals after progress in negotiations in recent weeks, triggering celebrations by the families of Gaza and Israeli hostages.
A Hamas official said earlier it had approved the draft agreement proposed by mediators. Israel’s prime minister’s office said there were “several unresolved terms” but hoped details would be ironed out by Wednesday night.
If approved by the Israeli cabinet, the agreement will come into effect on Sunday.
“I feel great, I’ve never been so happy before,” 19-year-old Dima Shurrab told the BBC in a WhatsApp message from Khan Younis. “I can’t believe it. What’s happening around me right now. Am I dreaming?”
“We are happy in Gaza, but we are scared. When the agreement comes into effect, the fear will disappear.”
Just two months ago, Shurab ended a call with “Pray we survive.”
After multiple evacuations, her family lives in a partially destroyed house. They survived on bread, nuts, peas, beans and some very expensive vegetables. With no gas, she walked two kilometers to get water and light a fire.
She won a scholarship to study medicine in Algeria, but two days after she submitted her passport to receive a visa, war broke out. She could not afford to pay the agent about $5,000 (£4,088) to leave via Rafah – her only option until the crossing closed in May.
“I felt like my future, my dreams were blocked,” she said.
But now, the ceasefire has brought her dream of becoming a doctor closer.
In the first phase of the deal, which lasts six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The second phase of negotiations will begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire. It should see the release of the remaining hostages, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and “sustainable calm.”
The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza, which could take years, and the return of the bodies of any remaining hostages.
“A day of happiness and sadness”
Ahmed Dahman, 25, told Reuters the first thing he would do when the ceasefire began was to retrieve his father’s body and “give him a proper burial.” .
Displaced from Gaza City and living in Deir al-Balah, he said: “I feel a sense of happiness because lives have been saved and the blood has been stopped.”
“But I also worry about the shock of the war, where we will see our destroyed homes in the streets, my father’s body still under the rubble.”
Iman Al-Qouqa, who lives with her family in a tent in the area, described the day as “a day of happiness and sadness, shock and joy.”
“Of course this is a day when we all have to cry because we have all lost everything,” she told Reuters.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. The Israeli military launched an operation to destroy the organization.
Since then, more than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Most of the 2.3 million people have also been displaced, causing widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as aid is difficult to reach those in need.
