How Gazans Reacted to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

The ceasefire comes amid an exchange of rocket fire between Hamas and the IDF that lasted for more than a week. Since the violence erupted, 12 Israelis have lost their lives, with 50 others seriously wounded. Palestinian casualties currently stand at 227 killed, including 64 children.

On 20 May, Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet unanimously adopted an Egyptian initiative for an unconditional bilateral ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, thus paving the way to end 11 days of military hostilities between the parties. Following the news, people in the Gaza Strip flocked to the streets to celebrate the ceasefire, launching fireworks, honking car horns, and marching through cities.

A new round of military hostilities started on 10 May, after Hamas launched hundreds of rockets towards Israel forcing the Israeli Defence Forces to respond with retaliatory strikes.

Violent clashes broke out earlier in May between Palestinians and the Israeli police, leading to the worst conflict in recent years. Riots began in two areas of East Jerusalem at once — near the Temple Mount and in the Sheikh Jarrah quarter, where several Arab families were evicted by an Israeli court order.

Check out Sputnik's photo gallery to learn more about the daily life of Palestinians amid the de-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Palestinians celebrate the ceasefire brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas.

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© REUTERS / Mohammed Salem

Palestinians hug each other after returning to their destroyed houses following the Israel-Hamas truce, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

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© REUTERS / Suhaib Salem

Palestinians ride a motorcycle past the site of an Israeli airstrike, following the Israel-Hamas truce.

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© REUTERS / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Palestinians, who took refuge in a United Nations-run school during the recent cross-border violence between Palestinian militants and Israel, return to their damaged home following the Israel-Hamas truce.

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Palestinians celebrate the truce that came into effect at 2 a.m. local time.

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© AFP 2023 / Mahmud Hams

This aerial view shows the Al-Jalaa Tower in Gaza City that was levelled by an Israeli airstrike during the recent military conflict between Israel and the Palestinian enclave governed by Hamas, after the ceasefire brokered by Egypt.

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© REUTERS / Mahmud Hams

Palestinians rest after returning to their damaged house following the Israel-Hamas truce, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

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The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, comes after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

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© REUTERS / Suhaib Salem

A Palestinian man walks past the damage caused by an Israeli airstrike carried out in the recent cross-border violence between Palestinian militants and Israel, in Gaza.

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© REUTERS / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A Palestinian boy riding on an auto rickshaw loaded with his family's belongings heads to their home as he leaves a United Nations-run school where they took refuge during the recent cross-border violence between Palestinian militants and Israel, following the Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza.

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© REUTERS / Mohammed Salem

Palestinians sit on debris after returning to their destroyed house following the Israel-Hamas truce, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

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© AFP 2023 / Mahmud Hams

A Palestinian family returns to their house in Gaza City after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

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© REUTERS / Suhaib Salem

A Palestinian man carries a child as he walks past the ruins of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the recent cross-border violence between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza.

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Hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the streets in the Gaza Strip to celebrate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

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© REUTERS / Mohammed Salem

A Palestinian man rests after returning to his damaged house following the Israel-Hamas truce, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.