Ottawans hold their breath as Israel-Hamas ceasefire begins

Ottawans with families caught up in the Israel-Hamas war have been waiting for a recently signed truce to come into effect, with news of the deal stirring up a mix of emotions for those who've watched the 15-month conflict tear their communities apart.  

Israel's cabinet ratified the ceasefire agreement Saturday morning, with Qatar's foreign minister posting on social media that the ceasefire would start at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday.

Carleton University professor Timea Spitka spent roughly 20 years in the area — including in both west and east Jerusalem — where she worked with Oxfam and taught classes on gender, international affairs and conflict resolution. 

Given her research into violent conflicts, Spitka said she was horrified when her eldest son was drafted into the Israel Defence Forces as a medic — but said he's been able to avoid the conflict thus far.

"I am hopeful about the ceasefire deal. That's the one part I am hopeful about," Spitka said, adding that three of her four children remain in Israel.

'Horrific' for Palestinians

Spitka said she was connected with some of the hostages taken 15 months ago and believes Israel will have to come to terms with what the Palestinian people have endured since the war broke out.

With so much strife and violence in the area, no one has truly been spared, she said.

"So everybody's going to be quite relieved to have at least some more hostages returned and kind of begin to heal," she said on Friday. "On the Palestinian side, the situation has simply been horrific."

Ola Alrayyes lives in Ottawa, but said much of her family still lives in Gaza. She said they're still holding their breath that the ceasefire will go through. 

"At least we can rest at home knowing that [our family members] are safe," she said. "To start over from the beginning, it's not an easy step. I know the coming stage, it will be lots of struggles and bad memories."

With so much death and strife — and her belief that this won't be the last war to be raged in the region — Alrayyes said she's not feeling much joy.

"I lost my aunt and her whole family. So, once we start to remember all of that ... we will not be the same people like before."

Feeling 'a little bit of conflict'

According to Rabbi David Rotenberg, it's hard for members of the Jewish community to not feel "a little bit of conflict" with the deal that's been struck.

"I think that it is impossible to not feel extremely hopeful that [the deal brings] what we have been praying for and hoping for and waiting for — which is the return and release of a number of very, you know, completely innocent hostages," said Rotenberg, the managing director of NCSY Ottawa and Montreal, a group for Jewish teens. 

But the conflicting feelings, he added, are rooted in his concern that a truce under the current terms won't secure Israel's future against Hamas.

"The framework for the deal that's in place is not the kind that I think everyone has been hoping would guarantee Israel's future safety," he said. 

LISTEN | Local Palestinian-Canadian and rabbi share their thoughts about the ceasefire

Ottawa Morning14:17Israel-Hamas ceasefire to come into effect Sunday, U.S. says

The U.S. says the Gaza ceasefire should start as planned after Israeli cabinet approves the deal Friday. We speak to a local Palestinian-Canadian and a rabbi about their reaction to the news.