Following over 15 months of war, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement, which is planned to go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19. The deal will release dozens of hostages and pause fighting in the Gaza Strip. 

The Israeli cabinet was predicted to vote on the ceasefire deal on Thursday, Jan. 16. After a “last minute crisis” with Hamas, Israel’s security cabinet officially approved the deal on Friday, Jan. 17. Midtown Muslim Student Association sponsor Millicent Green has been skeptical of the ceasefire since she first heard about it.

“[The delay] didn’t worry me any more than I already was,” Green said. “I was originally skeptical, so I don’t feel more skeptical. It’s like a wait-and-see kind of thing. Hopefully, it will bring some kind of lasting, peaceful situation. But I’m skeptical.”

Before the ceasefire was approved, Israel continued its bombardment of airstrikes, injuring 258 people and killing 86 people. Junior Hayden Hubbard said he was concerned about this continued violence.

“When I first heard about [the ceasefire], I definitely thought, ‘Oh, we’re getting somewhere,’” Hubbard said. “But seeing [more people dying], I was like, ‘Oh, maybe we’re not getting somewhere’. So it makes me a little bit worried because I just don’t want to see more violence.”

Freshman and MSA member Taslima Bilal said the agreement will lift some worries off the people living in Gaza.

“I was really happy about the ceasefire agreement,” Bilal said. “After the agreement was official I thought to myself,  ‘The Palestinians are at ease and they don’t have to live in fear every single day whether they are going to eat that day, no more dreams crashing down, getting bombed that day, if their family gets bombed, and just wondering if they will ever be free.”

Bilal described hearing about the ceasefire for the first time and the emotions that came with it.

“My first reaction to hearing and seeing the ceasefire agreement was I felt at ease and I felt like crying,” Bilal said. “I was so happy that the Palestinians can now be free and live comfortably. I read a poem from a Palestinian on Instagram named Hasan Qatrawi. The poem is about how he felt when the ceasefire announcement came out and that he doesn’t know where he will go. He will just run and find a quiet place to weep for a long time. After I read the poem I also felt like crying for a long time. The Palestinians can rebuild their homes, see their loved ones and lost ones and celebrate with each other.”

The current draft of the ceasefire deal is broken up into three phases. In the first phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages, and Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners including all women and children under 19. Israeli forces will also move east, making room for displaced Palestinians in the south to return to the north. The first phase will last 42 days; Green said the time is necessary to make sure no one is left behind.

“They need whatever time they need to make sure that the troops are out of Gaza, that’s why I’m comfortable with the timeline,” Green said. “I don’t want anybody to be left there with the troops.”

The deal also allows around 600 trucks to carry humanitarian aid into Gaza daily, including a minimum of 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents to act as temporary homes and neighborhoods to supplement the ones destroyed by the conflict. Hubbard is looking forward to the aid helping Palestinian families resettle into their homes.

“I’m really happy for the Palestinian families because it has been almost a year since they’ve been able to actually rest and be in their own homes,” Hubbard said. “I think that having aid to help them rebuild is going to be really great to see.”

Junior Hannah Reine is hopeful the ceasefire agreement will act as a starting point for permanent peace in Gaza.

“I’m thankful that the negotiations finally got somewhere and a ceasefire was reached, and I’m hopeful as to what this will mean for all those suffering in Gaza and for the hostages being held by Hamas who will finally get to go home after more than a year,” Reine said. “Obviously there is still so much work to do before there is true peace in the Middle East, but I hope this is a step in the right direction.”

Reine wants the ceasefire to help restore a sense of normalcy to the people living in Gaza.

“I hope that this ceasefire means that people in the Middle East, and in Israel and Gaza specifically, will be able to lead safer and happier lives,” Reine said.

Bilal said she saw people celebrating on social media.

“I saw videos and pictures on Instagram of kids and adults saying ‘Allahu akbar,’ meaning ‘God is the greatest,’” Bilal said. “Seeing them celebrate with joy brought me joy. I believe that the Palestinians will rebuild their home and they can live with no troubles and worries.”

Bilal hopes the ceasefire is the starting point for Palestinians and Israelis to come to a lasting peace.

“I think there should be an improvement in the way the Palestinians and the Israeli people coexist with each other in the same state,” Bilal said. “I want them to learn to love each other and try to share the land. I don’t want Israel to continue to just take over the Palestinian land and their culture. I want them to live in peace and greet one another, not fight and take hostages from each other.”

The main goal of the ceasefire is lasting peace in Gaza. While nothing can undo the damage that has been dealt, Green hopes the ceasefire will stop further damage from being done and allow the families to rebuild their lives.

“I’m hoping that if everything goes as planned, that the people in the Gaza Strip will get some relief from this tragedy, that they’ll get some help,” Green said. “But I know the consequences are just going to be for years to come. I hope that there’s help in the region, and I know that people are looking forward to the hostages being returned to their families. So I’m hopeful for that as well.”