‘Glimmer of hope in a cycle of death’: Families in Gaza pray ceasefire brings an end to devastation
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Palestinians react to long-awaited ceasefire with mixture of joy and trepidation after 15 months of strikes on the Gaza Strip. Families in Gaza described Sunday’s ceasefire with Israel as a “glimmer of light in a cycle of death” as they celebrated what they hope marks the end of the ferocious bombardment of the strip, which has killed over 46,000 people.
![[Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced by the Israeli assaults]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/12/SEI236538411.jpg)
As the long-awaited truce between Hamas and Israel came into effect at 11am Sunday, families were filmed travelling on foot, in donkey carts, and cars through wastelands of destruction, many searching for the remains of their homes. In other clips shared online, Palestinian journalists removed their body armour live on air for the first time. Crowds chanted, sang, and whistled in the background.
![[Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect,]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/12/Israel_Palestinians_57321.jpg)
Many hope the truce, brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, will herald the permanent end of the conflict that has ravaged Gaza and will secure the release of nearly 100 hostages abducted from Israel during Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023. In Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth, Israel’s bombardment has killed over 46,000 people, including at least 14,500 children, according to the local health ministry. It has displaced 90 per cent of the more than two million residents and destroyed nearly 70 per cent of all buildings, according to the United Nations.
![[Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble with the majority of the population displaced]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/11/SEI236531752.jpg)
A spokesperson for the UN’s child agency told The Independent that the truce was a “critical first step” to stop the killing of Gaza’s civilians and to bring hostages home, but emphasised that the scale of destruction in the strip meant it was “insufficient to address the deep suffering”.
![[Palestinian Hamas militants keep guard as people gather before the release of hostages kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attack]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/14/SEI236553822-copy.jpg)
