'Brought tears to my eyes': Palestinian, Jewish communities in Windsor welcome news of ceasefire

Some Jewish community leaders and Palestinian advocates in the Windsor, Ont., area say they're buoyed by news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

One man who came to the region from Gaza last summer said he is "so happy that I can't even find my words."

"When we heard this, it really brought tears to my eyes," said Ahmed Ismail.

His family in Gaza, he says, is overjoyed with the prospect of an end to the sound of rockets in the sky.

"They're so happy that we started to plan, 'If we see you guys, we will do this together. We will eat this together," he said.

The deal promises the phased release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel; it would allow people displaced in Gaza to return and bring humanitarian aid to the region.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced the agreement in Doha, saying it would go into effect on Sunday. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement it hoped "details will be finalized tonight." 

The president of the University of Windsor Jewish Students Association said news of the agreement was still sinking in.

But Justin Hebert, who is in his final semester of law at the university, says he has been steadfast in his insistence on freedom for Israeli hostages, and he welcomed the possibility of their release. 

"This must be seen as a moment of relief for so many people," he said.

At the same time, Hebert expressed caution about the outcome, saying peace accords have fallen apart in the past after being close to completion, and he and other members of the Jewish community are holding their collective breaths.

"We will believe it when we see it," he said. 

Hebert said he has been caught in a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts about the conflict over the past year and a half – particularly given the rise of antisemitism. 

The ceasefire, he said, could lead to an easing of tensions on the university campus.

"If nothing else, this could be an opportunity for unity and healing, not just for the Jewish community, but all affected communities," he said. 

The executive director of the Windsor Jewish Federation and Community Centre expressed a similar cautious optimism to Hebert's in an email to CBC News.

Marion Zeller said the organization welcomes the deal to release dozens of hostages and hopefully create a framework to speedily release the remaining hostages. 

"There is still much work to be done and significant uncertainty ahead," Zeller said. 

"But we are hopeful that this first phase of the ceasefire agreement will pave a way forward for hostilities to end and for an era of security and rebuilding for both Israel and her neighbours."

One pro-Palestinian supporter who helped organize the Palestinian encampment at the University of Windsor said she too is greeting news of the ceasefire agreement with both hope and caution. 

Jana Alrifai said she is celebrating the fact people in Gaza have "the right to live again" after two winters spent starving with few resources. 

"I'm thinking about the joy and the relief they must be feeling and how, after 400, almost 500 days of genocide, they were able to finally count their dead and mourn them," said Alrifai.

But she said, now is not the time for people in the west to become complacent. 

"This is the time that we have to continue pushing," she said.

"We're just looking for everybody to say this needs to be permanent and this needs to be an actual ceasefire, not a ceasefire by name."