Israel Anxious wait in Gaza ahead of ceasefire talks
With a view to new ceasefire talks in Egypt, many people in Gaza are wavering between hope and skepticism. 33-year-old Rana Salameh has been staying with her three children in a building in Deir al-Balah that used to serve as a school since the beginning of the year. They sleep on thin mattresses and cook on small gas stoves.
05.10.2025, 16:41
SDA
"Every time there is talk of a ceasefire or negotiations taking place in Egypt, the people in the shelter start whispering and hoping that it might finally be over," says Salameh, referring to the war that has been raging in the narrow coastal strip for two years. "But after so many failed talks, we have learned not to expect too much." She has no answer to her children's questions about when they can go home.
"I want to believe that the talks will bring peace, but I'm afraid of being disappointed again. All I want is to return to our house in Beit Lahia - even if it is damaged - and let my children sleep in their own beds without the sound of bombs."
"People are hungry for news"
54-year-old Mahmud Issa is a greengrocer at the Al-Sawija market in the city of Gaza. Before the war, which began with the unprecedented massacre by the Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, this market was full from morning to night. Now it is almost empty, says Issa. "Every customer who comes by asks me the same question: Have you heard anything from Cairo? People are hungry for news, not food."
Everyone wants to believe "that maybe this time the talks will bring an end to the fighting", he explains. "But we've seen this too many times before." Prices are high, supplies are scarce and most families can't even afford tomatoes or onions. "If the bombing stops, maybe I can reopen my whole stall, maybe the fishermen can go back to sea, and maybe the town will breathe again. I'm not asking for much - just for peace so that we can work and live."
Fear that "the world will move on and make Gaza bleed again"
38-year-old Hanin al-Kudra is a doctor at Schiffa Hospital in the embattled city of Gaza. "Every day in the hospital feels like an endless emergency," she reports. "We receive wounded patients around the clock - children, mothers, elderly people - and sometimes we have to treat them on the floor because there aren't enough beds."
Part of her dares to hope, when she hears about the talks in Egypt, "that maybe, just maybe, this is the moment when something could change". Another part of her remains cautious. "We've already seen too many temporary pauses that ended in more attacks." The medical staff are exhausted, working almost without supplies and are emotionally drained, the doctor reports.
"If these talks could lead to a lasting ceasefire, it would save lives and give us a chance to rebuild the healthcare system. What I fear most is that the world will move on and let Gaza bleed again."
Talks on US President Donald Trump's peace plan are expected to take place in Egypt on Monday. The content of the indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamist Hamas is a swift ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip in return for Palestinian prisoners as a first step.
