“We have been waiting for this for a long time,” said 17-year-old Sanabel. “Finally, I will lay my head on my pillow without worry.”
He is one of millions of Palestinians across Gaza who are celebrating the cease-fire deal the US and Qatari mediators said was approved by Israel and Hamas on Wednesday after 15 months of war.
Part of the first phase of the agreement, which comes into force on 19 January, will see Israeli forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. Hundreds of aid trucks will also be allowed into the area each day.
Those in Gaza have spoken of their joy and relief, but also of their sadness and anxiety as they mourn their loved ones, and begin to rebuild the garden after more than a year of destruction.
Speaking to the BBC World Service after news of the ceasefire, Sanabel, from Gaza City, said: “Finally! We got what we wanted! We are all happy now!”
He said his family planned to return home “at midnight” in his father’s recently repaired car.
Both Qatar and the US have confirmed an agreement to end the war and release hostages after negotiations that have continued in recent weeks, prompting celebrations in Gaza and the families of Israeli hostages.
A senior Hamas official said he had previously approved the draft agreement to mediators. The Israeli prime minister’s office said there were “several unresolved issues” but hoped details could be finalized by Wednesday night.
The deal will go into effect on Sunday as long as it is approved by the Israeli cabinet.
“I feel happy, I’ve never been this happy before,” Dima Shurrab, 19, told the BBC in a WhatsApp message from Khan Younis. “I can’t believe what’s happening around us now, am I dreaming?”
“We are happy in Gaza, but we are afraid. The fear will end when the agreement comes into effect.”
Just two months ago, Shurrab hung up the phone with the words “pray for us to stay alive”.
Dima Shurrab said he is still afraid, but his fear will “disappear” when the ceasefire agreement begins. [BBC]
His family lived in a house that was destroyed after moving out several times. They lived on bread, nuts, peas, beans and very expensive vegetables. He walked two kilometers to collect water and lit a wood fire because he did not have gas for cooking.
He had a scholarship to study medicine in Algeria, but war broke out two days after he submitted his passport to get a visa. He could pay a broker about $5,000 (£4,088) to travel to Rafah – his only option until May, when that crossing is closed.
“I felt like my future, my dreams were being blocked,” she said.
However, now the ceasefire brings his desire to become a doctor closer.
The first phase of the deal, which lasts six weeks, will also see nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The negotiations for the second phase will start on the 16th and the conflict will be stopped. It should see the release of the remaining hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and “stable calm”.
The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza, which could take years, and the return of any remaining bodies of hostages.
‘Vacation between happiness and sadness’
Farida, a teacher who was fired from northern Gaza, said that she has not seen her mother, father and brothers for a year.
Speaking from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, he told BBC Arabic’s Gaza: “Right now we are facing a situation of expectation, fear and anxiety.
“We also have feelings of longing… We are trying to breathe the freedom that we have been denied.
“No matter how much I talk, I can’t explain the mixed feelings I have and the joy I have now to return to the north.”
Reem, a mother who was also evicted from the north where she lost her home, told this program: “We thank God that we are finally living in this time that we never expected.
“The feeling I’m facing right now is alternating between happiness and sadness.”
Hashim Adel Abu Eiala, speaking in Khan Younis, told the BBC that he was facing “the greatest feeling in the world”.
“We have been waiting for more than a year and three months for this suffering, death, destruction, killing and hunger.
“We persevered and showed resilience that no other people in the world or the Arab region have shown before.”
He has been living in a tent for 15 months and he will “kneel on the ground thanking God” when he returns home, adding: “We hope that this happiness ends well.
The Israeli army launched an operation to destroy Hamas following the group’s unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured.
More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the area.
Most of the 2.3 million people have also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to the struggle to get aid to those who need it.
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