Palestinians in Gaza Hope for a Ceasefire as They Endure War's Harsh Conditions

07 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al Balah: A Palestinian woman bakes bread inside a tent at a make-shift camp for the internally displaced in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still have hope that Israel’s 15-month war with Hamas will end soon, as both sides appear to be inching toward a ceasefire deal.
“What we are living is not a life. Nobody could bear the situation we’re experiencing for a single day,” said Munawar al-Bik, a displaced woman from Gaza City.
“We wake up at night to the sounds of men crying, because of the bad situation,” al-Bik said. “The situation is unbearable, we have no energy left, we want it to end today.”
She spoke to The Associated Press on a dusty road in the southern city of Khan Younis beside the rubble of a destroyed building. Behind her, a sea of makeshift tents filled with displaced families stretched into the distance.
Muhammad Zaqout, a displaced man from Gaza City, said he’s sick of children being killed daily, of the destruction and displacement.
In recent months, families who fled their homes in Gaza have had little access to clean water or enough food to eat, and they struggle to cope with harsh winter conditions that have killed several babies from hypothermia in recent weeks.
Issam Saqr, displaced from Khan Younis, said he hopes the ceasefire “will happen today — before tomorrow!”