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On the early hours of Thursday, one could observe minimal celebration across the Gaza Strip. Word of the pending peace agreement had traveled swiftly throughout the war-torn region during the night, marked by occasional shots discharged heavenward to express relief, however when daybreak appeared the sentiment shifted to tense anticipation.

“Everyone is still afraid,” stated a young woman in her twenties located in al-Mawasi, the densely populated and impoverished coastal belt in which a large portion of residents has sought shelter under temporary shelters and vinyl dwellings.

“We anticipate an official announcement and real guarantees to reopen the border passages, bringing in food, and ceasing the bloodshed, ruin and displacement.”

Nearby, an elderly resident Abbas Hassouna said he and his family were anticipating an official announcement and real guarantees for border access, facilitating nourishment delivery, and stopping the killing, destruction and displacement”.

“After witnessing these changes, then we can genuinely trust them. But for now, fear remains. Authorities may withdraw suddenly or dishonor the deal as before and we will remain in the same endless cycle with nothing changing just further agony,” Hassouna expressed, originally from Gaza’s northern sector but has been displaced several times.

Conflicting Feelings Among Residents

Ola al-Nazli, 47 said she had learned of the ceasefire through her neighbors in the al-Mawasi zone. “I felt confused regarding my reaction, about feeling joyful or mournful. We have experienced this on numerous prior occasions, and each time we faced disillusionment anew, consequently this occasion apprehension and wariness have intensified,” Nazli stated, who was compelled to evacuate her home in Gaza City because of the recent armed conflict in that area.

“People reside in tents that fail to safeguard against low temperatures or during shelling. Those who had money or occupations lost everything. This explains why any joy we feel is mixed with agony and dread. My sole wish that we might exist protected, not hear the sound of bombs, not be forced to move, and that border passages will be accessible quickly,” said Nazli.

Relief Preparations Underway

Relief groups announced they were getting ready to inundate Gaza with food and other essential supplies. The 20-point plan provides for a surge of aid delivery. The World Health Organization chief, the WHO director, explained his team was prepared to “scale up its work to address critical medical requirements throughout the territory, and to support rehabilitation of the ruined healthcare network”.

The international body for Palestinian refugees, hailed the agreement as significant comfort, and said it maintained sufficient food reserves beyond the territory to supply the war-torn area’s 2.3m population during the upcoming trimester. Though more aid has reached Gaza during previous days, amounts remain grossly insufficient, humanitarian workers reported.

Optimism and Worry Among Displaced Families

Jihad al-Hilu received information regarding the truce through a wireless receiver as he sat in his shelter in al-Mawasi. “At that moment, I sensed a blend of happiness and comfort, as if some hope had returned to my heart after a long wait. We anxiously awaited this moment, for killings to end and for the slaughter that have destroyed numerous families to conclude,” Hilu in his thirties told the Guardian.

“Concurrently, there is a great fear present among us. We worry that this peace arrangement could be short-lived and that the war may restart similar to previous occasions.”

There are also broad anxieties regarding what tranquility may bring to Gaza, where the vast majority of dwellings have been damaged or destroyed, almost all infrastructure obliterated and where numerous residents face regular food shortages. More than 67,000 Palestinians primarily non-combatants have perished amid armed conflict initiated following the militant attack during late 2023, causing approximately 1,200 fatalities similarly mainly ordinary people and saw 251 taken hostage by combatants.

“My primary concern more than anything is the lack of security. Starvation is tolerable, but the absence of safety represents the actual calamity. I fear that the region may transform into an area of disorder dominated by militias and armed factions rather than proper governance.”

Present Conditions

Observers reported military personnel discharged artillery to deter residents going back to northern areas of the territory during Thursday’s dawn but reported no sounds of fighting or air attacks.

A resident named Nadra Hamadeh, whose sister, brother-in-law, two family members and son in law lost their lives in hostilities, expressed her desire to return from al-Mawasi to northern Gaza as soon as possible to assess her property, which she believes to be damaged yet remains standing.

“My heart is heavy for individuals who surrendered their families and children and homes … Concerning our case, we hope for returning to our home which we had to evacuate. It feels still as if our souls had been separated from our physical forms during our departure,” Hamadeh in her fifties commented.

“Our aspiration remains that the war ends,