Gaza (TDI): Emotions run high as Palestinians in Gaza struggle to believe this is finally happening. Under the agreement that was reached at on Wednesday, Israeli troops have started to pull back from parts of Gaza.
Gazans have started walking towards where their homes once stood. For most of them, it is a return not to homes but to the wreckage of what were once their homes.
“We are happy just to return to where our homes were, even over the rubble,” a resident said, as reported by Reuters.
“Thank God my house is still standing,” said Ismail Zayda, 40, in the Sheikh Radwan area in Gaza City. “But the place is destroyed, my neighbors’ houses are destroyed, entire districts have gone.” “Is it over? They said it is. Why does no one come out and tell us whether there is a ceasefire and we can stop being afraid?”
Ismail’s words echo confusion, fear, lack of certainty, and a struggle to believe in the ceasefire – feelings that are not alien to many other fellow Gazans. Despite the uncertainty the future holds, joy and celebration also erupted across Gaza.
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Israel announced that the ceasefire is now in effect, as there were 24 hours for it to take effect. Some Israeli troops withdrew from Khan Younis in Southern Gaza, while others left their positions in Nusseirat camp in the center, heading towards the Israeli border.
An immediate ceasefire in Gaza was Hamas’ pre-condition for release of hostages, for which it has 72 hours starting from the time when the agreement was reached at.
“As soon as we heard the news of the truce and ceasefire, we were very happy and got ready to go back to Gaza City, to our homes. Of course there are no homes – they’ve been destroyed,” Mahdi Saqla, 40, told Reuters.
“But we are happy just to return to where our homes were, even over the rubble. That too is a great joy. For two years we’ve been suffering, displaced from place to place.”
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