Israel-Hamas War

Relief and skepticism felt in Mass. as Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire

A ceasefire deal figures to end the fighting in the Middle East and bring hostages home

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A ceasefire is set to bring an end to 15 months of fighting in the Middle East.

The last 15 months of war in Israel and Gaza have profoundly impacted people in Massachusetts, particularly those with family overseas.

While the ceasefire agreement reached Wednesday offers a glimmer of hope after a period of intense suffering, significant uncertainty remains.

For some, the news offers a chance to breathe easier.

"For the first time in almost 500 days, Palestinians around the world are breathing a sigh of relief," said Lea Kayali, a Palestinian Youth Movement organizer in Boston.

More than 15 months since the war began, an agreement has been made to stop the fighting, with hostages and prisoners of war set to be released.

"This is the moment we've been waiting for. We have been praying for the return of hostages for 467 days," said Rabbi Marc Baker, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

For families of hostages, however, the news is met with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Jason Greenberg of Needham lost two family members in the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people.

Greenberg's cousin, Ofer Calderon, is among the 33 hostages Hamas has agreed to release in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Greenberg said. "It's hard to image anybody being able to endure that long, and even come back the same person, so if he comes back alive — that's a miracle."

Calderon, 54, was last seen alive, but in poor health, in August of last year. He and his two children were captured on Oct. 7, 2023. While the children were released after 59 days in captivity, they have been without their father for over a year.

"To get him back has been the one thing that has been the missing piece of their puzzle of recovery," Greenberg said.

Kayali described the devastating impact of Israel's extensive retaliation in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 46,000 people.

"The last 15 months have broken me as a Palestinian in ways I didn't know I could be broken," Kayali said.

President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and both their teams all deserve credit for the work leading to a deal to end the fighting in the Middle East, political commentator Sue O'Connell says.

Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Massachusetts, emphasized the need for swift action while acknowledging the challenges ahead.

"This may take a long time," Amatul-Wadud said. "It is indeed what we want, but there is so much work and a lack of trust."

"Anything that stops the ongoing violence at the level of military attack will be a good thing," said Northeastern University Professor Zinaida Miller, an expert in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I'm very happy there's a ceasefire that will now take place, but it can't possibly undo what has been done up until this point."

She's hopeful both sides live up to the ceasefire, but wonders what will happen down the road, and how Gaza can be rebuilt given that large areas have been reduced to rubble, displacing more than two million people.

"We have to be thinking in the longer term about infrastructure," said Miller. "About aid, about rebuilding, about governance, those are very much open questions."

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