Celebration and trepidation in Gaza and Israel following ceasefire plan agreement
By Helen Regan, Dana Karni, Abeer Salman, CNN
(CNN) — News of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas was met with celebrations and joyous scenes in both Gaza and Israel, though residents on both sides of the devastating war expressed trepidation that a deal may still fall through.
US President Donald Trump announced that negotiators had reached an agreement in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh late Wednesday, saying Israel and Hamas had signed off on the first phase of a ceasefire framework.
The plan includes the release of all hostages held by Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed upon line, according to Trump.
A Qatari official later said the agreement will “lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid.”
However, there is a still a lack of clarity on key sticking points, including the disarmament of Hamas, the future governance of Gaza as well as what, if any, security guarantees have been made to stop hostilities from erupting once again.
Jubilant crowds gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to celebrate the agreement, with many people expressing joy that the hostages held captive by Hamas may finally come home.
Former hostages released as part of earlier ceasefire agreements, and families of those still held captive, joined the crowds who were hugging, singing and raising glasses.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan Zangauker remains in captivity with Hamas, joined the spirited crowds on Thursday morning. Appearing overwhelmed, she joined in with chants that translate in English to “We will bring Matan back.”
“Our hearts are filled with joy, I cannot even know how to hold it in,” Tel Aviv resident Hillel Mayer told CNN from the square.
Palestinians in Gaza heralded the agreement, cautiously hoping it would bring an end to Israel’s devastating assault on the besieged enclave, which now lies in ruins. Crowds gathered near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to celebrate in the predawn darkness, clapping and cheering.
“I feel like I could fly with joy,” Ali Aref Abu Ouda from Beit Hanoun told CNN.
He said he hoped that the nightmare he and his loved ones were living would finally stop.
“The war will stop and the suffering and moving from place to place and the nightmare will end. But now we do not know what we will do. There are no houses, no schools, no universities, nothing remains,” he said.
But underlining the precarious nature of such agreements, the Israeli military said it had instructed its soldiers to “be ready for any scenario.” And the military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned Palestinians in Gaza not to return north or approach areas where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are stationed.
Even as celebrations broke out, journalists in Gaza told CNN that Israeli bombardments are continuing, especially in Gaza City.
Abu Mohammad Abu Yassin, from Jabalya in northern Gaza, told CNN he was not going to return home just yet.
“In the past there was a truce and we hoped, then the war returned and we lost people. I am one of those affected. My son was 9 years old sitting in the street when a shard struck his eye and he lost his eye,” he said.
Abu Yassin said he feared what would come next. “We will feel the effects of the war after the ceasefire. We are now preoccupied with how to feed our children. When the truce comes everything will be provided and then we will remember and enter into the psychological suffering after the war.”
Hostage families rejoice but remain cautiously optimistic
In Israel, the families of hostages held in Gaza, and hostages who had been previously released, celebrated the news of the agreement – with many personally thanking Trump.
“I can’t believe it,” said released hostage Ohad Ben Ami in a video on Instagram.
“You’re coming back home,” said Liran Berman, whose twin brothers Gali and Ziv are still being held in Gaza after being abducted from Kfar Aza kibbutz in southern Israel. “My Gali and Zivi I love you so much.”
The twins were last seen alive by witnesses in February, when the last hostage release was held during a fragile ceasefire that later fell apart when Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza.
Video released by the Hostages Families Forum showed Trump on the phone with hostage family members and captivity survivors in Washington, telling them their loved ones will return on Monday.
The group, some visibly emotional, can be heard shouting “thank you” and cheering.
The agreement came a day after the two-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks that killed at least 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, and took 251 people hostage. Hamas and its allies still hold 48 hostages in Gaza, including one whose body has been held since 2014. The Israeli government believes at least 20 of them are alive.
The joy of the hostages’ anticipated return and emotional reunions has been tempered to some extent by a feeling of intense trepidation against a backdrop of lingering distrust and previous false hopes.
“We remain hopeful, but we’re also grounded in reality. We know war is the kingdom of uncertainty and nothing is concluded until we see it with our eyes,” Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is still held in Gaza, told CNN.
“Until we see Omri ourselves, we will not believe it,” he added.
“We are happy inside, truly, the joy is deep, but we need to be realistic,” said former Israeli hostage Eliya Cohen at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported.
“Until they’re getting on the Red Cross vehicle, and really meeting IDF soldiers, until that moment, we must continue to pray.”
Rare hope amid Gaza devastation
It was in the early hours of the morning in Gaza when the agreement was announced. With little internet connection in the besieged strip, many people there were still not aware of the agreement, journalists in Gaza told CNN.
Before the sun rose in Gaza City, a young girl told a journalist how happy she was about the agreement because she would be able to return home. “We’ve spent two years, and now we’re starting the third, living in a war. We’re very tired of this life,” the girl said in a video obtained by CNN.
A small but joyous crowd gathered in Khan Younis, singing, dancing and cheering in video obtained by Reuters.
Khan Younis resident, Wael Radwan, credited Trump with the agreement – and thanked “anyone who contributed even if verbally to stop the war and to stop the bloodshed.”
Another resident Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo said “all of the Gaza Strip is happy” about the announcement. “All the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed,” he said, according to Reuters.
Israel’s war has caused widespread destruction across Gaza, and the enclave has been gripped by escalating scenes of death and hunger.
More than 67,000 people, most of them women and children, have been killed, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday, and Palestinians struggle for survival under relentless bombing, mass displacement and the spread of disease.
In September, an independent UN inquiry concluded for the first time that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a finding that echoes those of other genocide experts and human rights groups – but which the Israeli government has firmly rejected.
There will be caution and nervousness among many Gazan residents that any truce reached may not lead to a permanent end to the war, as previous agreements have shattered. Trump’s announcement on social media did not mention some thorny topics that will need to be resolved, including Hamas’s disarmament and the future governance of the enclave.
The Hamas-controlled Government Media Office in Gaza (GMO) warned Palestinians to “exercise the utmost caution in their movements and travel” following the announcement of the agreement, and “not to let down their guard until an official, clear, and confirmed announcement is issued by the competent Palestinian authorities.”
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CNN’s Tareq al-Helou, Jessie Yeung, Tamar Michaelis, Lucas Lilieholm, Lex Harvey, Kaanita Iyer, Kate Bolduan and Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.
