‘Staying alive was luck’: Joy and despair as Gaza ceasefire nears

Hamas, Israel reach ceasefire deal, Qatar, US say, leaving Palestinians with mixed feelings, and an urge to return home.

Deir el-Balah, Gaza and Beirut, Lebanon – In the Gaza Strip, many Palestinians are celebrating, hoping that the a devastating 15-month war is finally over.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire proposal, according to Qatar and the United States, which would involve a captive and prisoner swap, and the return of Palestinians to their homes across Gaza. Israel says a few issues remain, while Hamas has announced its acceptance.

In Gaza, the joy for Palestinians comes tempered with grief, having lived through the death of so many of their loved ones, in an Israeli war that rights groups and United Nations experts have described as a “genocide”.

Several Palestinians told Al Jazeera they plan to return to their towns and villages the moment they get the opportunity to, having been displaced by Israeli attacks and so-called “evacuation orders”.

“As soon as there is a ceasefire, I will return and kiss my land in Beit Hanoon in north Gaza,” said Umm Mohamed, a 66-year-old woman who lost two of her 10 children when an Israeli bomb fell on her home in December 2023.