For the past 24 months, ceasefire talks have come and gone, each ending in disappointment. Every truce in Gaza brings both hope and doubt -- hope that the guns may finally fall silent, and doubt over how long the calm will last.

by Sanaa Kamal

GAZA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- When U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan for Gaza on Sept. 29, I thought Hamas would reject it outright. The proposal excluded the Palestinian movement from governing Gaza and required it to disarm -- conditions that seemed impossible for it to accept.

Yet the rapid developments that followed left many, including myself, in disbelief. After several days of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, the two sides agreed to the first phase of the Trump plan, and a ceasefire took effect on Friday. The agreement was later formalized at a summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

I learned of the ceasefire in my apartment in El-Shorouk City, east of Cairo. As I watched the live broadcast of the signing ceremony, I thought of those who never lived to see it. Memories of my hometown Gaza -- where I spent seven months during the two-year war -- came flooding back: nights lit only by candles, the thunder of airstrikes, the weary faces of mothers in hospital corridors, and the thick scent of dust and smoke filling the streets.

For the past 24 months, ceasefire talks have come and gone, each ending in disappointment. Every truce in Gaza brings both hope and doubt -- hope that the guns may finally fall silent, and doubt over how long the calm will last.

"We hope this truce lasts. We're tired of being disappointed," my friend Reem Salah, a nurse at Nasser Hospital, told me over the phone. "People here are still cautious, but there's a new look in their eyes -- something between fear and relief."

For Youssef Hamdan, a 42-year-old taxi driver from Khan Younis, the ceasefire brought an unfamiliar silence. He heard the news while transferring casualties through the city. Pulling up in front of Nasser Hospital, he simply sat there.

"I didn't even celebrate," he said. "It took a few minutes to realize I was still breathing -- and that my family was safe, at least for now."

Throughout the war, Hamdan spent his days behind the wheel, ferrying the wounded and displaced to safety. His own family had been forced to flee several times after Israeli airstrikes destroyed their shelters. Each night, he checked on them briefly before returning to the roads under fire -- to bring others to safety and to earn a living. Months of bombardment have left him flinching at every sudden noise.

"At least now I can drive without constantly looking at the sky," he said quietly. "The war may be over, but the fear never truly leaves -- nor the memory of what my family and I went through."

In Gaza City, Rawan Abu Jaber, a 29-year-old teacher taking shelter in a tent in the al-Rimal neighborhood, burst into tears upon knowing about the ceasefire. Like many others in Gaza, she never believed she would survive.

"I cried -- not out of joy, but from exhaustion. It felt unreal," she said.

At the start of the war, Abu Jaber would reassure her students that fear would eventually pass. But months of relentless bombardment taught her otherwise. Several times, she and her family sheltered at home to escape Israeli strikes. One night, explosions just a few houses away shattered their windows and threw them to the ground -- her closest brush with death. "I prayed not for survival, but that if it happened, it would be quick," she recalled.

After the ceasefire, Abu Jaber stepped outside her tent and looked at what was left of her neighborhood. "I thought to myself, we survived -- but part of us stayed beneath that rubble," she said.

Still, many Palestinians see the ceasefire as only the first step on a long road toward stability. The end of fighting does not necessarily mean the end of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Rather, it may mark the start of a new and uncertain phase filled with political, economic and humanitarian challenges.

"Hamas has accepted the clause concerning the ceasefire and prisoner exchange, but not all details related to the next stage, which includes security and political arrangements," said Ramallah-based Palestinian political analyst Esmat Mansour.

"The next phase will determine whether this truce holds or fails. Any violation or escalation on the ground could bring the situation back to the starting point," he added.