On October 9, 2025, a sense of cautious hope swept across Gaza and Israel as news broke of a long-awaited breakthrough: Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace deal, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, to end the two-year war that has devastated the region. The announcement, hailed as a “momentous breakthrough” by President Trump, was met with scenes of celebration in southern Gaza and Tel Aviv, even as the scars of conflict remained fresh and the future uncertain.
For many Palestinians in southern Gaza, the news was almost surreal. According to The Associated Press, people poured into the streets, embracing the unfamiliar calm after years of relentless violence. In the battered enclave of Khan Younis, the change was palpable. Wiam al-Masri, a 24-year-old mother, described the profound silence that had descended on al-Mawasi, a coastal area where her family took refuge after Israeli forces destroyed their Gaza City apartment six months after her marriage in November 2024.
“Finally, the sound of the sea is no longer drowned out by the noise of war. This calm is a blessing only those who have listened to death’s roar for two years can truly understand,” Wiam told Egab reporters. For the first time since her infant son Samih was born, she could hear his soft cries rise above the quiet, rather than being smothered by the constant thrum of drones and shelling. The war’s psychological toll, she said, was immense—every sound carried the threat of death, every day brought new reasons to fear for her family’s survival.
Wiam’s experience echoes throughout Gaza. The war, which began with the October 7, 2023 attacks, left more than 67,190 people dead—a tragedy the United Nations has described as genocide. The relentless Israeli air and artillery strikes, coupled with the persistent surveillance buzz of Israeli drones known locally as “al-zanana,” created an atmosphere of unending terror. “The most terrifying were the quadcopters that flew right between and inside the tents – once, one hovered just above us,” Wiam recalled. “And al-zanana was the worst. You can’t hear anything else. It’s not just surveillance; it’s psychological warfare meant to break us.”
Despite Thursday’s truce, violence has not entirely ceased. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli attacks on October 9 killed at least 29 Palestinians, particularly in Gaza City. Yet, for many, the reduction in violence was enough to inspire hope. Ahmed al-Hissi, a 73-year-old fisherman and father of eight, sat in a borrowed tent in al-Mawasi, surrounded by grandchildren who survived the conflict but remain haunted by its echoes. “We’ve lived with the sounds of death chasing us day and night,” he told Egab. “It will take time to get used to peace.”
Ahmed’s son Khaled was killed by an Israeli naval shell on November 8, 2023, and Khaled’s wife died days later in a bombing. Now, Ahmed’s grandchildren flinch at the slightest noise, their nerves frayed by years of trauma. “Even now, my grandchildren flinch at the slightest sound – if I clap my hands, they cry. Here, every sound means something. It means survival or death.” Yet, Ahmed looks to the future with guarded optimism: “Tomorrow, I’ll return to fishing. We’ll hear the gulls and the vendors at Beach Camp again, not the cries of mourners or the rumble of tanks. Gaza is moving from the sounds of death to the sounds of life.”
The peace plan, as outlined by The Chicago Tribune, involves a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of 48 Israeli hostages, possibly as soon as the following week. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will be released. Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil Al-Hayya, declared unequivocally on Thursday that “the war was over,” emphasizing that guarantees from the United States, Arab mediators, and Turkey assured this was not merely a temporary ceasefire. The United Nations and relief agencies now look to finally deliver humanitarian aid under improved conditions.
International leaders acknowledged the significance of the agreement. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, despite his political differences with President Trump, credited Trump’s leadership for making the deal possible. “I want to be really clear about that,” Starmer stated during a visit to India, “and I say that from the informed position of the U.K. having played a part behind the scenes in this with the U.S. and with the mediators.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, meanwhile, called on Israel to “expand the circle of peace” in the region and to engage with Palestinian aspirations.
For the families of hostages and victims, the deal brings a bittersweet relief. The Chicago Tribune recounted how families of Israeli hostages, many of them liberal-minded and some with American ties, had longed for nothing more than the safe return of their loved ones. Yet the military response to the October 7 attacks brought immense suffering to Palestinian families, with losses on a catastrophic scale. The hope now is that, as hostages return and violence recedes, both Israelis and Palestinians can begin to heal.
Still, everyday struggles persist. In northern al-Mawasi, Tawfiq al-Najili, a volunteer supervisor at a camp for displaced families, described the pain of scraping the bottom of an empty pot, knowing some children would go hungry. “When the ladle hits the bottom of the pot, I know there are families who won’t eat tonight,” he said. “The war forced many sounds on us – the terrifying ones like jets and bombs, but also the heartbreaking ones: empty pots, children crying from hunger.” For Tawfiq and others, true peace will only come when the cries of the hungry and sick are silenced by the return of normal life, not just the absence of bombs.
Celebrations on both sides were tempered by mourning and uncertainty. As Palestinians cheered in the streets of Gaza and Israelis danced in Tel Aviv, the shared relief was evident. Yet, as The Chicago Tribune noted, “relief is mixed with mourning and concern for what comes next.” The agreement’s success will depend on the willingness of all parties to honor their commitments and on the world’s support for rebuilding shattered lives.
After two years of relentless conflict, the sound of silence in Gaza and Israel is both a balm and a reminder: peace, however fleeting or fragile, is worth celebrating—and fiercely protecting.