In Gaza, Palestinians reclaim small moments of dignity amid the ceasefire

Deir el-Balah, Gaza — Late connected October 8, 2025, portion everyone other successful the location was asleep, I laic awake scrolling done my telephone and writer chat groups for updates. There were conflicting accounts from the ceasefire talks — of progress, setbacks, anticipation and doubt.

As my telephone artillery dwindled, I yet drifted disconnected to sleep, stirred occasionally by distant shelling that told maine what my telephone couldn’t.

When I awoke conscionable earlier dawn connected October 9, my wi-fi was dead. I rushed to the roof, searching for an eSIM signal. The prima was rising arsenic updates loaded onto my phone, and determination it was: “Announcement of a ceasefire statement successful Gaza — to instrumentality effect wrong hours.”

I looked astatine the houses and tents wherever everyone inactive slept, saddened that we were the past to know. Then joyousness deed me. “Wake up, the warfare is over,” I shouted.

“Swear it?” my hubby said. It was astir 6:45am, and helium was lone fractional awake. I showed him the headlines, and gradually, the remainder of the house, including my father, sisters, and my member and his family, awoke to the news. They had each been staying with maine since being displaced from the north. Everyone was successful disbelief, but my girl Banias, nine, beamed.

“Really? Are you serious?” she asked, earlier she jumped with happiness, tears rolling down her cheeks.

A small miss crying from joy.

Maram Humaid, right, with her girl Banias, left, astatine location successful Deir el-Balah, Gaza, conscionable aft the ceasefire was announced [Courtesy of Maram Humaid]

Islam’s wedding blessing

Banias’s happiness abruptly reminded maine that it was besides my person Islam’s wedding day. Just 2 days earlier, Islam had visited maine astatine location with her sister-in-law to sermon the wedding. She had been engaged during the archetypal truce successful February 2025, but the wedding had been postponed 5 times.

Just a week earlier, she had mislaid each of her belongings erstwhile her household fled southbound from the Shati exile campy successful occidental Gaza City amid aerial raids. Her fiance’s household was besides displaced. It was astatine that constituent that the mates decided to get joined connected October 9, with the families agreeing to clasp a small, quiescent ceremonial to determination guardant with their lives.

But erstwhile I saw Islam connected October 7, she was worried. She couldn’t find a dress. “The dresses are worn retired … covered successful particulate and fading white,” she said.

Her sister-in-law, Manar, promised they’d find one, but Islam sighed, saying, “I don’t consciousness similar a bride. I consciousness similar I’m caught successful a whirlpool.” When her fiance called that time to accidental helium inactive hadn’t recovered a spot to transportation their tent, she looked defeated.

Still, she wanted her tiny celebration. “That’s each I want,” Islam told me. “My wedding feels similar a time of mourning, not happiness.”

But she had been wrong.

“The ceasefire came connected your wedding day, my friend. What a uncommon blessing,” I thought.

(L) Journalists and families stitchery successful the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital successful Deir el-Balah to observe the announcement of the ceasefire. (R) People stitchery astatine al-Nuwairi Hill, westbound of the Nuseirat exile campy successful cardinal Gaza, located on al-Rashid Street, the main coastal roadworthy connecting the southbound and northbound [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

‘The past hours of the war’

I rapidly got dressed for my locomotion to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital successful Deir el-Balah, wherever journalists stitchery to screen the latest developments.

The streets were buzzing with quality astir the ceasefire. Some radical had doubts, others smiled with cautious hope. I kept thinking, “Could these truly beryllium the past hours of the war?”

At the hospital, journalists and cameras lined the courtyard.

My workfellow Nour smiled. “Finally,” she sighed. Nour hadn’t seen her children — Alia, 14, and Jamal, 11 — for a twelvemonth and a half, having sent them to information successful Egypt portion she stayed to screen the war. A ceasefire carried the anticipation that she mightiness soon beryllium reunited with them.

Displaced radical and residents started to stitchery astir us, asking if the quality was true.

A 30-something pistillate I’d seen during my visits to Al Jazeera’s structure astatine Al-Aqsa Hospital during the archetypal fractional of the warfare greeted me. She was determination to sojourn a sister who had been injured successful a bombing.

“They accidental there’s a ceasefire and the warfare is over? Is this true?” she asked.

Other displaced women overheard and wanted their ain assurances. “So it’s certain?” they asked.

The sounds of jets overhead made everyone anxious, but by midday, Israel’s furniture had ratified the agreement, and it started to consciousness real.

A displaced pistillate from Beit Hanoon told me, “We’re relieved the bombing stopped, but we don’t consciousness joy. What joyousness is determination erstwhile we’ve mislaid everything? Our homes are gone. Our metropolis is destroyed.”

After 2 years of relentless bombardment, radical were exhausted.

In the afternoon, I headed towards al-Nuwairi Hill adjacent the Nuseirat exile campy successful cardinal Gaza. Thousands had gathered determination connected the sandy elevation with their belongings, waiting to beryllium allowed to question northbound to their neighbourhoods successful Gaza City.

One pistillate with 3 children sat connected her bundles and said she’d hold each nighttime for support to return. She didn’t cognize if her location inactive stood, but for her and galore others, the ceasefire meant 1 thing: a accidental to return.

Every location present had 1 of 2 fates: lasting oregon destroyed. “Standing” brought tears of joy, adjacent if bombed oregon hollowed out. “Destroyed” meant heartbreak.

Maram Humaid poses with the newlyweds, Islam and Mohammad [Courtesy of Maram Humaid]

Celebrations successful an bare shop

After a time of interviews, I inactive had clip to be Islam’s wedding, which was held successful an bare store successful the Nuseirat camp. One of Islam’s relatives had rented the store to structure his recently displaced household conscionable days earlier.

When I entered, a tiny radical of women sat connected integrative chairs arranged neatly on the unfinished walls. In the centre stood a elemental “kousha”, an aged brownish sofa wherever Islam sat with her caller husband, Mohammad.

The cheerful bushed of wedding euphony filled the room.

It was a small, humble celebration, and Islam glowed with joy. The store buzzed with ululations and laughter.

I hugged Islam and said, “See, the warfare ended connected your wedding day, the time you called unlucky. It’s a blessed time now, my friend.”

I greeted her groom, joking, “I conscionable came from al-Nuwairi Hill. People are already there. Are you readying to spell backmost north?”

He laughed, “If that’s true, I’ll instrumentality my bride and caput northbound close now!”

I took a shared taxi connected the mode backmost location and listened arsenic my chap passengers debated the ceasefire. Many feared it wouldn’t hold, and everyone saw the archetypal signifier — the speech of captives and prisoners — arsenic a test.

Chocolate and cooking gas

For astir Palestinians successful Gaza, the past week has been a premix of relief, fear, and anticipation.

On that archetypal calm Thursday, radical began returning north, often to ruins. At my house, we debated whether to enactment oregon return. On Saturday, calls confirmed that our household home, my husband’s, and my brother’s were each destroyed. We weren’t amazed — it was the aforesaid communicative for thousands.

I had already lived done that loss. Our location was destroyed a twelvemonth and a fractional ago, and I’d already started anew successful rented accommodation, which saved america from the uncertainty and heartbreak that truthful galore others present felt.

By Sunday, discussions astir returning continued. My begetter was anxious to spell back, but we decided to wait, particularly arsenic the captive exchanges began.

Life successful Gaza remains astir intolerable — nary water, services, communication, oregon power. A neighbour who went northbound warned america to enactment put, telling america helium had to locomotion a agelong mode conscionable to fetch water.

Then came devastating news: the assassination of Saleh Aljafarawi, a writer and activistic who had covered the war. He was murdered by section Israeli-backed militia amid clashes with Hamas.

Saleh’s decease terrified us. Many fearfulness it signalled Gaza’s adjacent looming calamity — that interior unit could decorativeness what the Israeli service began.

On Monday, attraction turned to the captive exchanges. Families rejoiced and wept. One parent danced erstwhile some her sons, thought dead, were released. Another antheral broke down aft learning his woman and children had been killed. And successful a bitter irony, Saleh’s member Naji was released from situation the aforesaid time Saleh was buried.

By Tuesday, nutrient prices began to drop. My girl ran home, excited: “Mama, the cocoa that utilized to outgo 18 shekels [$5.4] present costs six!” Then, existent joyousness arrived — cooking gas. My hubby work a connection from the state station, telling me, “Get the stove ready, you’ll navigator connected state contiguous for the archetypal clip successful 9 months!”

Maram’s household enjoys cooking with state again aft going 9 months without [Courtesy of Maram Humaid]

‘A tiny portion of dignity’

We pulled retired the aged stove, heavy with grease and dust, and scrubbed it clean. When the archetypal bluish occurrence lit, we clapped and laughed, signaling the infinitesimal connected our phones similar fireworks. Our archetypal java brewed connected a cleanable occurrence — alternatively than connected firewood with achromatic soot — felt miraculous. My begetter smiled implicit his cup.

“We’re reclaiming a tiny portion of dignity,” I thought.

By Wednesday, calm returned. I cooked pasta successful 20 minutes alternatively of 2 hours. It tasted similar “normal life”. But connected Thursday, my begetter again raised the contented of returning. He spoke of gathering a tiny structure among our ruins. I told him we should hold a spot longer. There were already accounts of Palestinians being killed by Israeli forces arsenic they tried to instrumentality to their homes.

He nodded slowly, agreeing. “I tin unrecorded with ruins,” helium said, “but not without safety.”

As I listened to him, I thought astir stories yet to archer — the radical returning to rubble, trying to physique caller lives. I had to hold for the star panels to complaint earlier writing, since that’s our lone root of power. “Unplug everything!” my hubby often shouts. My caller wish, alongside the instrumentality of gas, is for existent energy — an extremity to this regular warfare of vigor and exhaustion.

When I yet began to constitute again, a quiescent thought struck me. People whitethorn work these words, but bash they cognize the conditions successful which they’re written? Do they cognize the deep, unending conflict down each word?