Palestinians in southern Gaza clapped, cheered and danced in the pre-dawn darkness on Thursday, after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire deal to end the devastating two-year war in the territory.
A crowd of around a dozen young men shouted joyful chants of “Allahu akbar”, meaning God is the greatest, outside Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital, as one man lifted another onto his shoulders.
A man wearing a journalist’s press vest could also be seen carried above the crowd, speaking into a microphone.
“Thanks to God for this ceasefire, thanks for the end of the bloodshed and the killing,” said Abdelmajid Abedrabbo, a resident of south Gaza.
“I am not the only one who is happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all of the Arab people are happy about the ceasefire,” he added.
“Thanks and love to all those who stood with us and played a part in ending the bloodshed, sending you love from Gaza.”
Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.
The agreement, to be signed Thursday, also calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.
– ‘We are happy’ –
“Despite all the wounding and the killing, and the loss of loved ones and relatives, we are happy today after the ceasefire,” Ayman al-Najjar told AFP in Khan Yunis.
“I lost my cousins and some friends, and a week ago I lost my beloved grandfather, may his soul rest in peace. But today, and in spite of all this, we are happy,” he added.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, where 47 remain, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
– ‘Indescribable’ –
The ceasefire agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump.
“Thank God, President Trump has announced that war ended, we are very happy,” said Wael Radwan.
“We thank our brothers and all of those who participated even with just words to stop this war and this bloodshed.”
Khaled Al-Namnam, 26, who is displaced in Al-Maghzai in the central Gaza Strip, said he had not expected the news.
“Suddenly, I woke up in the morning to incredibly beautiful news… everyone was talking about the end of the war, aid coming in, and the crossings being opened. I felt immense happiness,” he told AFP by telephone.
“It’s a strange feeling — indescribable — after two years of bombing, fear, terror, and hunger. Truly, it feels like we are being born again.”
