CAIRO, Jan 16 — Palestinians burst into celebration across the Gaza Strip yesterday at news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with some shedding tears of joy and others whistling, clapping and chanting "Allahuakbar" (God is greatest).
"I am happy, yes, I am crying, but those are tears of joy," said Ghada, a mother of five displaced from her home in Gaza City during the 15-month-old conflict.
"We are being reborn, with every hour of delay Israel conducted a new massacre, I hope it is all getting over now," she told Reuters via a chat app from a shelter in Deir Al-Balah town in central Gaza.
Youths beat tambourines, blew horns and danced in the street in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave minutes after hearing news of the agreement struck in the Qatari capital Doha.
The complex phased accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said theceasefire would take effect on Sunday. Negotiators are working with Israel and Hamas on steps implementing thedeal, he said.
For some, delight was mingled with sorrow.
Ahmed Dahman, 25, said the first thing he would do when the deal goes into effect is to recover the body of his father, who was killed in an airstrike on the family's house last year, and "give him a proper burial."
"I feel a mixture of happiness because lives are being saved and blood is being stopped," said Dahman, who like Ghada was displaced from Gaza City and lives in Deir al-Balah.
"But I am also worried about the post-war shock of what we will see in the streets, our destroyed homes, my father whose body is still under the rubble."
His mother, Bushra, said that while the ceasefire wouldn't bring her husband back, "at least it may save other lives."
"I will cry, like never before. This brutal war didn't give us time to cry," said the tearful mother, speaking to Reuters by a chat app.
Despite the breakthrough, residents said Israeli airstrikes continued on Wednesday evening in Gaza, where more than 46,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to local health authorities. Strikes on Gaza City and northern Gaza killed at least 32 people, medics said.
Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's security cabinet and government, with votes slated for today, an Israeli official said.
The accord was expected to win approval despite opposition from some hardliners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who repeated his condemnation of the agreement yesterday.
In a social media statement announcing the ceasefire, Hamas called the pact "an achievement for our people" and "a turning point".
If all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel must still agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a formidable challenge involving security guarantees for Israel and many billions of dollars in investment for reconstruction.
— Reuters
