Gazans welcome glimmer of hope in a cycle of death'

Families in Gaza described yesterday's ceasefire with Israel as a "glimmer of hope in a cycle of death" as they celebrated what they hope marks the end of Israel's ferocious bombardment of the strip, which has killed over 46,000 people.

- BEL TREW NEDAL HAMDOUNA

As the long-awaited truce between Hamas and Israel came into effect at 11am, 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.

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 the 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 2 million residents and destroyed nearly 70 per cent of all buildings, according to the United Nations.

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”.

“We need the operational environment inside Gaza to considerably improve, which is going to be challenging,” they said, adding that there needed to be unfettered transport of aid.

Civilians, many of whom have been displaced more than five times and have lost countless family members, told The Independent that this ceasefire was a “glimmer of hope” but just the beginning of a long process of rehabilitation and reconstruction.