Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – For the first time in a long time, Palestinian mother Wiam al-Masri can clearly recognise the cries of her infant son, Samih, who is not yet two months old. His soft wailing rises in the quiet air of al-Mawasi, in southern Khan Younis, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump to end the Gaza war – largely halting Israeli air and artillery strikes and ushering in an unfamiliar calm.After two years of war that left more than 67,190 people dead – an assault the United Nations described as genocide – Palestinians in Gaza are beginning to celebrate a long-awaited silence. The agreement has dramatically reduced the constant shelling and the buzzing of warplanes that have dominated the skies since 2023 – although Israel has conducted some attacks, killing at least 29 Palestinians on Thursday, particularly in Gaza City.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listInside a worn tent where she has lived for five months with her firstborn, her husband and his parents, Wiam listens as the sea wind brushes through the fabric. She says softly, “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’s family fled to al-Mawasi after Israeli forces destroyed her husband’s apartment in Gaza City, just six months after their marriage in November 2024.At 24, Wiam had been studying pharmacy at the University of Palestine before the war destroyed her campus and forced her to drop …
