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Families in Gaza described Sunday’s cease-fire with Israel as “a ray of light in a cycle of death” as they celebrated what they hope marks the end of a fierce bombardment of the Strip, which has killed more than 46,000 people.
As the long-awaited ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect at 11am on Sunday, families were filmed traveling on foot, in donkeys and cars through the devastation, many searching for the remains of their homes.
In other footage posted online, Palestinian journalists took off their body armor live on air for the first time. The crowd chanted, sang and whistled in the background.
Many hope the truce, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt, will herald a permanent end to the conflict ravaging Gaza and secure the release of nearly 100 hostages taken from Israel during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
In Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 46,000 people, including at least 14,500 children, according to the local health ministry. According to the United Nations, it displaced 90 percent of more than two million residents and destroyed nearly 70 percent of all buildings.
A spokesman for the UN’s children’s agency said The Independent that the ceasefire was a “critical first step” to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza and allow hostages to return home, but stressed that the scale of destruction in the Strip meant it was “not enough to address the deep suffering”.
“We need the operating environment inside Gaza to be greatly improved, which will be a challenge,” she said, adding that the smooth transport of aid is needed.
Civilians, many of whom have been displaced more than five times and lost countless family members, said The Independent that this ceasefire was a “ray of light” but only the beginning of a long process of rehabilitation and reconstruction.
“You are talking about people whose past has been erased, and any horizon of the near future has been erased,” said Essam Raja, 38, who was forced to leave his home in northern Gaza. He now lives in a tent in the so-called al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, which was bombed before the ceasefire took effect on Sunday.
“Everything we have is facing massive destruction and damage,” he said. “In the near future, everything is completely destroyed.
“There is a mixture of conflicting emotions: joy and relief at the end of a tragedy and sadness at the loss of loved ones, relatives and friends.”
Mohamed, 44, who was also displaced in al-Mawasi from Gaza City, said he hoped the ceasefire “will restore people’s confidence that there is a glimmer of hope to avoid the cycle of death we have endured since October 7”.
“Right now we are living a life of misery in every sense of the word,” he said The Independent. “People are looking forward to a better future – a safe and prosperous life, away from the sounds of planes, guns and bombs, so that our children can feel safe and secure.”
The first phase of the 42-day ceasefire is expected to see the release of 33 hostages taken by Hamas militants during their bloody attack on Israel on October 7, during which they also killed more than 1,200 people. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in an Israeli prison, including dozens of women and children, are expected to be released, with Palestinian media releasing details of 90 people expected to be freed on Sunday.
A rush of humanitarian aid is also expected, with as many as 600 trucks entering Gaza per day, which is far more than Israel previously allowed.
The United Nations World Food Program reported that trucks began entering through the two crossings after the ceasefire took effect. said Rosalia Bollen of Unicef The Independent that Unicef alone had “the equivalent of 1,300 trucks” of food items, sanitary and hygiene kits ready to be brought in immediately if “operational access could be improved”.
But she said they faced significant challenges, including heavy controls at entry points, extensive damage to Gaza’s infrastructure such as roads, and security problems, including a “vicious downward spiral of scarcity and looting”.
Unicef estimates that there are also tens of thousands of severely wounded children, many of whom struggle with life-long injuries such as amputations. Unicef also estimates that there are at least 17,000 children who are essentially orphans: now unaccompanied or separated from their families due to war.
“And so the suffering is not only physical. Every child in Gaza is deeply psychologically affected by the relentless nature of this conflict. Children witnessed things that no child should ever have to witness,” she continued.
“Trauma is real and incredibly difficult and needs to be addressed. Every child in Gaza needs psychosocial support.”
This is only the second ceasefire of the war, but it is longer and more consequential than the one-week pause in November 2023, with the potential to bring the fighting to an end. But there are concerns that negotiations will be far more complex for the second phase of the ceasefire, which is due to begin in just over two weeks. Big questions remain, including whether the war will continue beyond the first phase and how the remaining hostages in Gaza will be freed.
Across the Gaza Strip, despite the apprehension, celebrations continued to break out. Masked militants appeared at some celebrations, where the crowd chanted slogans in support of them, according to reports from the Associated Press in Gaza. Hamas-led police have also begun to deploy publicly after being out of sight during Israeli airstrikes. Civilians expressed their desperation to return to their homes and find their missing loved ones. In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to sites of mass destruction. Some found human remains, including skulls, among the rubble.
Wael Mohamed, 50, who is in central Deir al-Balah after fleeing northern Gaza, said families must start pulling the dead from the rubble, bringing them for burial and treating the injured.
Alaa Qahman, 32, a mother of two children displaced in Khan Younis, said it was vital to maintain the ceasefire.
“People everywhere, from the far south to the north, are clinging to a thin straw of hope as soon as they hear the news of the armistice,” she said The Independent.
“They desperately need a ceasefire so they can continue their lives in safety, away from danger.” The people of Gaza have suffered and are still suffering from the horrors of this war. We are talking about orphans, widows, wounded and disabled. The ceasefire is very important: the people need to heal their wounds and rebuild what was destroyed.”