A cautious calm settles over Gaza as the ceasefire takes hold

After the ceasefire took effect Friday, displaced Palestinians began returning to their homes, many reduced to rubble.Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters

As the ceasefire approached, the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued until the last moment, targeting homes and refugee camps, like a war machine insisting on leaving its final mark before a long silence.

The agreement came into effect at noon local time Friday, when the Israel Defense Forces stopped attacking Gaza with missiles, helicopters and tanks. The military began withdrawing toward the border from areas in the north and centre after weeks of intense diplomatic efforts led by regional and international mediators in Egypt.

The sound of Israeli drones continued to fill the sky, however, as they surveilled the people below. Thousands of displaced Palestinian families started returning cautiously along the coastal road from southern Gaza to northern areas, back to their destroyed towns. There were tears and cries of both joy and sadness. People were glad to see family members, friends and neighbours alive, but their eyes still searched for what was lost.

Here's what you need to know about Gaza and the Israel-Hamas war, including the ceasefire deal, the toll of the war so far and what comes next.

After two years of a brutal war between Hamas and Israel that a United Nations independent commission has called a genocide, as well as a suffocating blockade that turned daily life in Gaza into a journey plagued by fear, hunger and destruction, the ceasefire felt to many like a critical turning point in the long conflict.

Streets that were once littered only with dust and rubble suddenly came alive as people gathered on sidewalks, talking with neighbours, checking on loved ones. Children ran among the crowds, playing and laughing as if trying to reclaim their lost innocence. Young men and women cheered and hugged each other, happy simply to be alive. Mothers watched their children closely, whispering words of comfort.

A Palestinian woman carries her baby as she and others walk toward Gaza City.Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press

Shops that had been closed for weeks were reopening. Vegetable sellers returned to the streets, arranging their goods with shaky hands but hopeful eyes.

Others stood near the homes of the dead, lost in grief.

Among the crowds was Fatima Youssef, who lost her only son, his wife and granddaughter in the war. As she held the hand of her injured grandson, the only surviving member of the family, her tears slipped down her face into a weak smile.

“I have lived through the hardest days of my life. I don’t know how to go on after losing everyone I loved, but seeing people come together, comforting me, congratulating each other for surviving, makes me feel I’m not alone,” she said, her eyes scanning the faces around her. She patted the boy’s shoulder, whispering words of reassurance while he stared silently at the ruins around him, his small eyes full of confusion and fear.

“I must care for my grandson, help him stand again and live with him no matter how painful it is.”

A displaced Palestinian family travels toward Gaza City on Friday.Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press

Trump’s Gaza deal is brimming with hope but short on details and long-term solutions

Nearby, Yousef Zuhair held up a cellphone with a cracked screen to film the scene. The twentysomething said he wanted to keep the images as proof that life had returned.

“I can’t believe I’m walking in the street without fear tonight,” he said.

“Maybe this peace won’t last long, but we must keep these moments to remind ourselves that life is still possible no matter how dark it gets.”

The ceasefire puts a stop to the longest and most destructive war in Gaza since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The balance of power and the rules of the game may change now because the war reached levels of violence never seen before, said Samir Mudallala, a leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and capturing 250 hostages.

Displaced Palestinians began carrying their belongings back to their homes, inspecting the damage and debris left behind by Israeli forces.Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press

“The political and military consequences could reshape the entire Palestinian scene, especially with no clear political horizon and deep humanitarian suffering inside the strip,” Mr. Mudallala said.

He was referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, the basis of the ceasefire. The eventual reconstruction of Gaza under international supervision is expected, but the plan provides few details, and the emergence of an independent Palestinian state remains uncertain.

For now, the ceasefire gives the people of Gaza a chance to catch their breath.

In a narrow alley in the Bureij refugee camp, Fathi Khalil, a man in his 40s, was sitting on a plastic chair in front of his damaged home. His face was pale, and his foot was wrapped in white bandages.

“The doctors told me I need treatment that’s not available here,” he said quietly. “When I heard about the ceasefire, the first thing I thought was that maybe I can travel now. I just want to heal, to walk again.”

Everywhere one looked, there was another story of life returning: someone sweeping debris from the sidewalk, someone sharing food with neighbours, the shouts of children.

Gaza, under the weight of destruction, is still standing. As the curtain of war falls, at least for now, Gazans are reminded that everything begins again with patience – and a deep faith that life deserves to be lived, no matter the cost.