PNN – In the streets of Gaza, all eyes were fixed on the moment the first stage of the ceasefire was announced. After months of pain and fire, the Gaza residents follow the unfolding events with a mix of hope and caution, as no one believes this calm will last long.
According to “Aya Joudeh,” a reporter from the Gaza Strip, after two years of war that brought destruction and devastation across the Gaza Strip, the official announcement of the ceasefire felt like a renewed heartbeat for a city weary of the constant shadow of bloodshed and fear.
The destroyed roads are filled with homeless and displaced people, and the cries for help that once echoed have now returned as shouts of Takbir and joy. Some are crying out of happiness, while others reflect on the memories of those they lost, who have flown away from among them.
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Mohammad Abu Sha’ar, a displaced Palestinian from the city of Rafah, speaking about the atmosphere of joy that spread across the Gaza Strip from the first moments of the ceasefire announcement, says: The Palestinian people have come to the streets today to show their commitment to life and their love for their homeland. After the forced relocation plan envisioned by the occupiers, along with the commission of various genocides and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, which sought to crush Palestinian rights, the people still insist on surviving in their land.
The signing of the first stage of the peace agreement revived hope in people’s hearts for the opening of negotiations, the entry of aid, and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction. According to this agreement, bombing in Gaza will stop completely, and the prisoner exchange process will begin under international supervision and broad public oversight. Every family here hopes to have a share in this moment.
Hamad Jalal, a displaced person from the city of Gaza, who was previously very pessimistic about the possibility of a ceasefire and the end of the war in this strip, says: We never imagined that today the war would really end. Until the day of the ceasefire, it felt like just a pause or a temporary break in the cycle of death for each family member. However, thank God, now I can spend today in peace. Even if this agreement is temporary, at least we are safe. Today, my children, my wife, and I are miles away from death.
In hospitals, refugee camps, and streets, signs of joy mixed with pain are visible, like a mother who has lost her children but silently smiles through her tear-filled eyes. Young people who have experienced displacement are raising the flag above the ruins of their homes. Here, the end of the war goes beyond politics; it symbolizes the beginning of a new breath for the spirit of a nation that never lost hope, even for a moment.
In the streets of Gaza, all eyes were fixed on the moment the first stage of the ceasefire was announced. After months of pain and fire, the people followed the unfolding events with a mixture of expectation and caution, as no one believes this calm will last long.