Palestinians in Gaza express relief and caution as ceasefire deal raises hopes of ending the war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Eager for the bloodshed, displacement and destruction to stop, many Palestinians in Gaza were relieved to hear news that Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war. But it was mixed with pain from staggering losses and concern about what comes next.

“Once we heard the news about the truce, we felt happy,” said Ibrahim Shurrab from Khan Younis. “We ask God for the happiness to continue for us and for our Palestinian people and for us to return to our homes despite the pain and suffering,” he added, speaking in Muwasi, an area crowded with tents sheltering Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes.

Nevin Qudeeh said she felt the greatest sense of relief since the war erupted two years ago. She’ll be even happier, she added, when she can return home.

“We’re staying on the streets.”

Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused vast destruction, displacement and suffering in Gaza. The war also brought famine to parts of the territory.

In Deir al-Balah, some children greeted the news with whistles, claps and celebratory chants of “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.”

Mahmoud Wadi said he received the news with “massive happiness and an indescribable feeling.”

Others in the Gaza Strip wrestled with mixed emotions.

“I am happy and unhappy," said Mohammad Al-Farra. “We have lost a lot of people and lost loved ones, friends," relatives and homes that are about a lot more than stones and physical buildings, he said.

One cannot help but wonder what the day after would look like, he said — or where to even begin picking up the pieces. “The situation is very difficult.”

But he said they would overcome future hardships just like they’ve been doing.

Taghreed al-Jabali, displaced from Khan Younis, shared the mixed feelings.

“We don't know whether to feel happy or sad,” she said, lamenting the killings and losses of the last two years, including children missing two full years of school.

“Our sons and daughters didn't receive education. A whole generation was lost. Two generations were lost, not just one. May God make it up for us," she said.

Mohamed al-Nashar from Gaza City said people feel “very cautious and we are fearful of what is to come.”

He worried that a truce could be violated at any moment, adding that Israeli strikes have been persistent in areas where the army is still operating.

Some were skeptical about Israel following through on a deal but held out hope.

Explosions were seen Thursday morning in northern Gaza as Israeli strikes continued. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes but earlier in the day said it had begun preparations for the implementation of the ceasefire and that troops were planning to shift to “adjusted deployment lines.”

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending the war.

In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians have been desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest ground offensive have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.

In their 2023 attack on Israel, Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll has exceeded 67,000 people. The ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

“We’re a people who’ve suffered from the injustice of the (Israeli) occupation and the injustice of the war,” said Samir Moammer, displaced from Rafah. “Education has stopped. People’s lives have stopped.”

He said he prays to God for the war and the bloodshed to end.

“The occupation has returned us to the Stone Age,” he said. “We ask God to complete this happiness and for people to return to how they were before.”

—-

Fam reported from Cairo. Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Displaced Palestinians gather on the coastal road near Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, during an attempt to return to Gaza City after the announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A displaced Palestinian man sits beside a bicycle as he waits on the coastal road near Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, during an attempt to return to Gaza City after the announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli soldiers move near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli tanks block the beach road to Gaza City as displaced Palestinians gather on the coastal road near Wadi Gaza after the announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, outside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.

Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.

“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”

Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.

Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.

“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.

Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”

He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.

Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”

A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.

“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”

Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.

China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.

China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.

Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.

Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)