UAE: Palestinian expats in tears as Israel, Hamas reach Gaza ceasefire deal
When the Gaza ceasefire news reached Dubai-based Palestinian expat Reem, the first thing she did was pray for her sister who remains in a tent in the city of fighting. She sprang into tears of joy because she’d even tried to believe that peace might be possible after 15 months of war that has killed almost 50,000.
‘It’s not like this is the first truce that has been declared,’ she said. "But I really want this one to be like that. My sister is in Gaza, and she is living in a tent with her eight children and three grandchildren. I pray they come soon. I pray for a peaceful settlement and to see my sister and family once the border is opened".
Midnight Wednesday night Israel and Hamas negotiated a truce to end fighting in Gaza and swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
'Suffered enough'
The peace agreement is also a message of promise to another foreigner, Ahmed. "I accept the truce en plein coeur," he said. "My family in Canada has had enough. It is the simple act of peace a day brings. We need leaders now who can make this peace last forever."
The conflict that started on 7 October 2023 has turned vast swathes of Gaza into a desert city. It could take 15 years to get the debris — 40 million tonnes — away, says the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
For Umm Khalid, the announcement was emotional. "I feel sad and mourn for those we love lost and will never see again but that the ceasefire and the war is ending is a day of celebration for all the Palestinians. With all this suffering, starvation, eviction and fear, my people there are feeling weird things. It is a happy-sad-warning thing.
Lara – still living with family in Palestine – said the settlement gave her a "shade of hope" in the midst of all the grief. "I’m a Palestinian and after suffering, you just can’t help but be cynical," she said. "But I also believe in the strength of my people and their unceasing belief in a better world. We too can and will survive this ravage, I am sure.’
Cautiously hopeful
Umm Abdul Rahman from Sharjah escaped Palestine decades ago, but still has family there. ‘I don’t know what to think,’ she said. "I am very thankful and happy but many things are left undone and confidence lost. Indeed, these last 15 months have taught me that they can do as much of what they like with as much freedom as they want and nobody is going to care."
But she said she still worried about the people of Palestine, as the holy month of Ramadan was near. "It is a peace agreement for now but I have a sense in a month Ramadan will be here," she said. ‘Over the past 10 years, they have bombed Palestine on Ramadan after Ramadan. I am trying to stay as calm as possible and I really hope that the leaders of the world stop a slaughter such as we have experienced from happening again".
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