Palestinians in Gaza worry and wait for Israel to implement ceasefire

4 days ago 7

Deir el-Balah, Gaza – A cautious alleviation seems to hover implicit cardinal Gaza’s Deir el-Balah arsenic radical basal extracurricular their tents, talking to each different astir the ceasefire that is acceptable to travel into unit aft support by the Israeli cabinet.

Some radical are celebrating, portion others are worrying that this respite volition beryllium little and incomplete, similar past ceasefires that Israel violated.

‘I deliberation he’ll spell with it’

Nasser al-Qernawi, 62, sat cradling his vigor connected the furniture successful his family’s shelter, patched unneurotic from integrative sheeting and a spot of bluish tarp.

He has listened to it each time for the past 2 years, and seems astir successful awe of the latest quality helium heard coming done it.

“Yesterday the quality was tough, successful the morning. But now, it’s better,” helium said. “I consciousness it’s closer, but helium didn’t accidental the connection ‘peace’, Netanyahu didn’t. The others said the connection ‘peace’, but helium didn’t.

“So we’re inactive not definite what he’s thinking, but I deliberation he’ll spell with it… if Trump comes and helium signs it, that’s it.”

Many hopes look to beryllium riding connected Trump, either owed to assurance successful the US president’s diplomatic skills oregon to a heavy distrust successful the motivations and actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I person doubts astir this, astir 90 percent, due to the fact that Netanyahu is simply a soiled traitor,” Khamis Othman, who has been displaced from Bureij camp, told Al Jazeera.

“He conscionable thinks this is simply a winning paper for executing his missions. The [Israelis could] instrumentality what is theirs and onslaught america again.”

In January, Hamas had released 33 Israeli and 5 Thai nationals who were held captive successful Gaza arsenic portion of a ceasefire deal.

However, Israel unilaterally violated the ceasefire successful mid-March, resuming its genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

“If they genuinely cared astir their captives,” Othman exclaimed, “they wouldn’t person attacked them on with the absorption fighters.”

Reactions to declaration Gaza ceasefire October 9 2025

Regardless, helium seems astatine slightest consenting to hold and spot what happens next: “From what we past heard, they’re saying Friday is erstwhile it happens, truthful hopefully, connected Friday, it’ll start.”

‘We can’t spell backmost home’

Ilham al-Zaanin (Umm Mahdi), 60, has been displaced with her 5 children and 10 grandchildren since the warfare began, and has mixed feelings astir this announcement.

On the 1 hand, she told Al Jazeera, she is filled with alleviation that the bloodshed whitethorn present stop, yet connected the different hand, she is mourning the information that they cannot spell backmost home.

Umm Mahdi and her household are from Beit Hanoon successful the northernmost governorate of Gaza, a portion that volition stay occupied by the Israeli service during the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire, truthful the household volition beryllium displaced, and she doesn’t cognize for however long.

“We went backmost to our location successful Beit Hanoon during the [January] truce,” Umm Mahdi said. “Our location was gone, though, everything was gone. So we came backmost present and are staying with my husband’s family.

“Everything is destruction, nonaccomplishment … God compensate and assistance everyone; everyone has their ain affliction … honestly, we’re hurting,” she said sadly.

The wounded is afflicting each generations successful Gaza, her relative Itidal al-Zaanin (Umm Mohammad) said, pointing to her grandchildren whose future, she fears, is already lost.

“My son’s children, alternatively of dreaming of what they privation to beryllium erstwhile they turn up oregon playing with toys, they’re walking astir with knives, carrying dense h2o jugs implicit agelong distances to sell.

“Some days they travel and archer maine and their parent astir the quality remains they spot flung astir aft attacks … ‘Grandma we recovered them successful pieces,’ they would archer me,” Umm Mohammad shook her head.

“Tomorrow we’ll beryllium shocked by the existent numbers of the martyrs and the wounded and the missing, those nether the rubble,” Umm Mahdi said.

“Over these 2 years, I’ve seen everything imaginable, everything painful. We saw slaughter, death, trucks afloat of dormant people, carnal carts.”

To spot oregon to doubt?

Everyone who spoke to Al Jazeera expressed happiness and alleviation that, astatine the precise least, the bloodshed would halt and immoderate radical would person an accidental to instrumentality to their homes, oregon what remains of them.

Othman is going to hold and see.

“You perceive it truthful often … there’s been an accomplishment, past it fails … optimism is thing that sits successful the shadows,” helium said.

Umm Mahdi is besides waiting to see: “[Israel] cannot beryllium trusted. You see, successful Lebanon, they weaponry them each day. We anticipation that the mediators volition intervene to sphere our safety.

Even successful the best-case scenario, Umm Mohammad isn’t definite thing volition beryllium the aforesaid again.

“My sisters mislaid their children, and our homes were destroyed. Our lives and our full aboriginal person been lost. There’s nary existent joyousness successful our hearts, but astatine slightest the bloodshed stopped,” she said.

“We’ve been begging Arab nations, overseas countries and Muslims who stock our religion for 2 years, but nary 1 cared astir america oregon our children, children who saw bodies torn isolated adjacent Al-Aqsa Hospital, and who saw children similar them, martyrs.”

Al-Qernawi held connected to his optimism astir arsenic tightly arsenic helium held his radio, which has kept him institution successful much ways than 1 done 2 years of genocide.

“People travel to perceive with maine sometimes, my daughters, oregon our neighbours,” helium said.

“God willing, radical volition spell backmost to their homes. God willing, the warfare is over,” al-Qernawi insisted.

“The full intent of the warfare and resuming it was each astir displacement.

But present it’s over; they missed their chance.”

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