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Celebrations broke out in the Gaza Strip after a a long-awaited truce came into force after 15 months of war that reduced much of the coastal Palestinian enclave to rubble.
The truce took effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed over a list of three female captives to be released as part of a brokered deal with Israel.
“My joy is beyond measure,” said Gaza resident Om Salah.
“From the moment they announced the ceasefire, I quickly packed all my things because I am ready to go to Gaza City. My children are extremely happy to go and see our families, relatives and our lands,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Here we are always scared and worried, but at home we will be very happy and joy will return to our lives.”
A young Palestinian man said: “Everyone is happy, especially the children.”
“We hope the Israelis will not violate it (the ceasefire) in the next few days,” he told Al Jazeera.
He said all he wants to do now is finish his education. “There are many dreams destroyed during this genocide.”
“We Made It Alive”
Health workers and rescuers from Gaza were also spotted celebrate in the streets. Videos shared online and verified by Al Jazeera showed several civil defense teams singing hymns and holding up victory signs.
Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said there were no “reported violations since the ceasefire took effect”.
“There were no more bombs, no more fighter jets and no more drones. The only sound of gunfire we hear is from celebrations in the streets – gunshots and fireworks are frequent,” he said.
Before the Armistice took effect, Israeli forces are killed at least 19 more Palestinians and wounded dozens more on Sunday, taking the total deaths in A 15-month genocide to nearly 47 thousand Palestinian and rights groups say the real death toll could be much higher.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the attacks led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and about 250 were captured.
Al Jazeera's Hind Hudari, reporting from Khan Younis, said Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah described the destruction caused by Israel there as “massive”.
“They didn't even realize where their neighborhoods were,” she said.
“However, people are very happy. You see everybody smiling, you see everybody chanting, and most Palestinians say, “We survived this war.”
“Uncertainty and Anxiety”
Al Jazeera's Mahmoud reported that in the courtyard of the hospital where he was reporting from, Palestinian families began dismantling their tents and returning to their homes, which they were forced to evacuate due to relentless Israeli bombardment.
“What we are witnessing here is how families are excitedly gathering their belongings – whatever they managed to collect during their stay in the hospital. There is so much excitement on their faces as they leave the hospital gates,” he added.
Anwar, a displaced Palestinian living in Khan Younis who did not give his last name, said he hoped to return to Rafah despite reports that his home had been destroyed.
“I will go there and make sure I find a place where I can pitch a tent to live with my family of eight,” he told Al Jazeera. “I have to go back to my city. I have to go back to where I was born.”
Anwar said the months of war were like a “nightmare”. “It was literally a nightmare, like we were (dreaming) and then we woke up again,” Anwar said.
He said he and his family lived in flimsy tents without enough food or water and that the prices of goods were “frighteningly high”.
Noor Sakka, a displaced Palestinian woman from Gaza City, said she was feeling “a huge mix of emotions”.
“We have not been able to feel completely relieved, not only because of how stressful these 15 months have been, but also because of the ceasefire itself – the fact that it was fragmented and not announced and implemented all at once,” Sakka told Al Jazeera in Rafah.
Saqqa said the fact that she and other Palestinians from Gaza City are still not allowed to return to their homes in the first phase of the ceasefire is causing the population “even more psychological stress.”
“We are constantly experiencing this uncertainty and anxiety that even this relief is not quite complete.”
