By God, we are so incredibly happy that all this crisis and sorrow, bombings and death, that has struck us is finally over, says a man to NBC News among jubilant crowds in Gaza on Wednesday evening.
He says it's time to return home, meet relatives who have survived and go back to being "happy and living as we used to do".
It's a wonderful feeling, says a man in an interview published by the British BBC. He thanks God for an agreement being reached.
And for us to be able to return to our homes, to our families and to our loved ones, he says, even though he then has to admit that many homes and many relatives are no longer there.
"Will kiss the ground"
Several Gazans who have been driven away say to Qatar-based al-Jazeera that they will return home as soon as possible.
As soon as there is a ceasefire, I will return and kiss the ground in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, says Umm Mohamed, a 66-year-old woman who is reported to have lost two of her ten children when their home was bombed in an Israeli attack.
Two men who the TV company's correspondent talks to say they want to leave the almost completely destroyed Gaza as soon as possible. One of them, Mohammed Abu Rai, tells about all the friends and colleagues who were killed.
Surviving in Gaza has always been a matter of luck, he says.
Hoping that the hostages are alive
In Israel, relatives of the hostages are rejoicing that at least some of them will be released.
We hope they are doing well and that we will see them as soon as possible, alive and in good health, says a man to BBC.
The parents of a young Israeli man who was killed in Hamas captivity also welcome the agreement, as an opening for all hostages to come home and for remains to be buried.
"All of Israel needs to start a national healing process that can only really begin when all the hostages have been brought home", write Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin in a statement to Israeli media.
"Our beloved son Hersh and so many other innocent civilians could have been saved long ago by an agreement like this, especially since the framework for today's agreement has been in place since May 2024."
The couple emphasizes that innocent civilians in Gaza must now be spared from further suffering.
