Celebrations erupted in the Gaza Strip after a much-anticipated ceasefire came into effect after 15 months of war that reduced much of the Palestinian coastal enclave to rubble.
The ceasefire came into effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed Israel, through mediators, a list of three female captives to be released as part of the deal.
“My joy is immeasurable,” said Gaza resident Om Salah.
“The moment they announced the ceasefire, I quickly packed all my things because I am ready to leave for Gaza City. My children are extremely happy to go and see our families, our relatives and our lands,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Here we are always afraid and worried, but when we return home we will be very happy and joy will return to our lives. »
A young Palestinian said: “Everyone is happy, especially the children. »
“Hopefully the Israelis will not violate the ceasefire in the coming days,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
He said all he wants now is to finish his studies. “Many dreams were destroyed during this genocide.”
“We brought it to life”
Gaza health workers and rescue workers were also seen celebrating in the streets. Videos shared online and verified by Tel Aviv Tribune showed several civil defense teams chanting and holding up victory signs.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said there were “no violations reported since the law came into force.” ceasefire.”
“There are no more bombs, no more fighter planes and no more drones. The only sound of gunfire we hear is from celebrations in the streets – gunshots and fireworks have been common,” he said.
Before the ceasefire took effect, Israeli forces killed at least 19 more Palestinians and injured dozens more on Sunday, bringing the total death toll during the 15-month genocide to nearly 47,000. Palestinians and rights groups say the real number could be much higher.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and around 250 were captured.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Khan Younis, said Palestinians in the southern town of Rafah described the destruction caused by Israel as “massive.”
“They didn’t even know where their neighborhoods were,” she said.
“Nevertheless, people are very happy. You see everyone smiling, everyone chanting, and most Palestinians are saying, “We survived this war. »
“Uncertainty and anxiety”
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Mahmoud reported that in the courtyard of the hospital where he was reporting from, Palestinian families began dismantling their tents and returning to their homes that they had been forced to evacuate due to the bombing. incessant Israelis.
“What we’re seeing here is families excitedly gathering their belongings – whatever they managed to gather during their hospital stay. There is so much enthusiasm on their faces as they leave the hospital gates,” he added.
Anwar, a displaced Palestinian living in Khan Younis who did not give his last name, said he hoped to return to Rafah despite reports that his home had been destroyed.
“I will go there and see to find a place where I can set up a tent to live with my family of eight,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune. “I have to go back to my city. I must return to where I was born.
Anwar said the months of war were like a “nightmare”. “It was literally a nightmare, like we were dreaming and then we got up,” Anwar said.
He said he and his family were living in flimsy tents, without enough food or water, and the prices of goods were “scary”.
Other displaced people said they returned home and found that the scale of the destruction made it difficult to even set up temporary shelter.
Mahmoud Anwar Abu-Salem, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, spoke to Tel Aviv Tribune after returning to his area after spending three months in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
“The whole house was reduced to rubble. Fifty members of my family will be living on the street,” he said, explaining that before the war the five-story building housed many of his relatives.
“Schools were also destroyed. There is no life at all,” Abu Salem said. “Even the mosque was targeted and destroyed. It’s even difficult to set up a tent here.
Nour Saqqa, a Palestinian displaced from Gaza City, said she felt an “overwhelming mix of emotions.”
“We have not been able to feel completely relieved, not only because of how stressful these 15 months have been, but also because of the ceasefire itself, the fact that it has been fragmented rather than announced and implemented in one fell swoop”, Saqqa. told Tel Aviv Tribune in Rafah.
Saqqa said the fact that she and other Palestinians in Gaza City are still not allowed to return home during the first phase of the ceasefire is causing “even more psychological stress” among the population.
“We constantly experience this uncertainty and anxiety because even this relief is not completely complete. »
