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On the early hours of Thursday, one could observe minimal celebration in Gaza. Word of the pending peace agreement had traveled swiftly over the battered land throughout the evening, accompanied by sporadic gunfire aimed at the clouds in celebration, yet with the arrival of dawn the mood was to apprehensive waiting.

“Everyone is still afraid,” stated a young woman in her twenties based in the al-Mawasi area, the squalid, overcrowded coastal strip where much of the population have taken refuge under temporary shelters and plastic shacks.

“We anticipate an official announcement coupled with tangible promises for opening the crossings, allowing food deliveries, and ceasing the bloodshed, ruin and forced relocations.”

Close by, an elderly resident Abbas Hassouna noted that his relatives were anticipating a formal proclamation and real guarantees for border access, bringing in food, and stopping the killing, demolition and exile”.

“When we see these things happen, then we can genuinely trust them. However currently, apprehension persists. Parties might renege suddenly or violate the accord as before stranding us in the same endless cycle devoid of progress except more suffering,” said Hassouna, originally from Gaza’s northern sector though he has faced expulsion several times.

Conflicting Feelings Among Locals

A 47-year-old woman called Ola al-Nazli mentioned she discovered regarding the peace deal through her neighbors within the al-Mawasi district. “I did not know how to feel, whether to be happy or sad. We’ve encountered similar situations many times before, and each time we faced disillusionment anew, consequently this occasion anxiety and prudence are stronger than ever,” said Nazli, who had to abandon her home in Gaza City due to the latest military operations in that area.

“People reside in temporary shelters that fail to safeguard from the cold or from the bombing. Those who had money or employment suffered complete loss. Consequently any joy we feel is mixed with agony and dread. My sole wish that we may reside securely, not hear the sound of bombs, not having to relocate, and that border passages will be accessible quickly,” said Nazli.

Relief Measures Ongoing

Aid agencies announced they were getting ready to saturate the territory with nourishment and necessary items. The comprehensive proposal includes provisions for a surge of humanitarian assistance. The head of WHO, the WHO director, said his agency was equipped to expand operations to address critical medical requirements of patients across Gaza, and assist recovery of the destroyed health system”.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, applauded the arrangement as a “huge relief”, and stated it had enough food stockpiled outside Gaza to supply the battered region’s 2.3 million residents for the coming three months. Though more aid has reached Gaza in recent weeks, quantities are still highly deficient, relief staff reported.

Optimism and Worry Throughout Evacuated Residents

Jihad al-Hilu received information of the ceasefire on a radio while residing in his temporary dwelling in al-Mawasi. “In that instant, I felt a mix of joy and relief, as if some hope came back to my spirit after a long wait. We anxiously awaited this point in time, for violence to cease and for the atrocities that have destroyed numerous families to end,” Hilu in his thirties shared.

“At the same time, there is a great fear that lives within us. We worry that this peace arrangement could be short-lived and that hostilities may restart as it did before.”

There are also widespread concerns about what peace might mean for the region, where more than 90% of dwellings have experienced ruin or destroyed, almost all infrastructure obliterated and where numerous residents experience daily hunger. Over sixty-seven thousand Palestinians overwhelmingly ordinary citizens have been killed amid armed conflict launched in the aftermath of the Hamas raid in October 2023, causing approximately 1,200 fatalities also primarily non-combatants and 251 people abducted by combatants.

“The main anxiety beyond other issues is the lack of security. Food deprivation is manageable, yet insecurity constitutes the true catastrophe. I worry that Gaza could turn into a zone of turmoil dominated by militias and militias in place of legal systems.”

Current Situation

Local sources indicated armed units discharged artillery to stop individuals returning to northern parts of the territory during Thursday’s dawn but reported no sounds of fighting or air attacks.

A woman called Nadra Hamadeh, who lost her sister, her relative, two nieces and son in law perished during the conflict, mentioned her aspiration to travel back from the coastal area to the northern territory as soon as possible to inspect her residence, which she believes experienced destruction but not destroyed.

“There is deep sorrow for those who lost their families and children and homes … Concerning our case, we look forward to returning to our home that we were forced to abandon. It feels still as if our souls had been separated from our physical forms at the time of evacuation,” Hamadeh, 57 commented.

“Our hope is that hostilities cease,