“Everyone is waiting for the ceasefire because our lives are terrible.”
With those words, Raed al-Atamneh, a taxi-driver in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, summed up the mood in advance of the Egyptian-brokered truce.
“People expect goods to come into Gaza now. I hope this agreement will stop the shooting, stop the dying. People want to feel safe and have a good life, but the power is in Israeli hands, not Palestinian hands,” Mr al-Atamneh added.
More than 400 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed in Gaza and southern Israel since Hamas seized control of the Strip a year ago. As tens of thousands of Israelis endured frequent rocket fire, Gaza’s population reeled from IDF operations and a blockade that caused shortages of fuel and basic goods. The strictures are now to be eased.
