Palestinians in the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Lebanon celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on Jan. 15, 2025. (Credit: Emmanuel Haddad/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — From the South to the North, Palestinian refugees across Lebanon were celebrating on Wednesday evening, as word spread of the announcement of a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment that laid waste to most of Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
"This is the moment we've been waiting for for a year and a half, after a genocide and so much suffering. Finally, victory!" exclaimed a young woman in Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp, the largest of its kind in Beirut. Young people wearing the kuffiyeh and waving the flag of Palestine went out into the narrow streets, which were packed with celebration while fireworks and gunfire filled the air. Children distributed sweets and women sang songs praising the courage of the Palestinians living in Gaza.
Several spontaneous marches and parades were also organized, such as in the Burj al-Shemali camp near Sour, in southern Lebanon. Jamaa Islamiya and Hamas also called for a celebratory march in Saida.
Amid the joy of the announcement of this truce in the Gaza Strip, which will come into effect on Sunday, there were also concerns about the danger from people firing their guns in the air, a common practice during weddings, funerals and celebrations.
In some refugee camps in the South, residents took it upon themselves to move through the crowds and dissuade people from firing their guns, but despite these efforts, several were injured at two camps in and near Saida. At least one child was injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
In northern Lebanon as well, scenes of jubilation in the Nahr al-Bared camp, and across many villages in the Akkar region.
Tallies vary across institutions, but an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon and there are 12 Palestinian refugee camps across the country, with their origins in the first wave of refugees from the Nakba of 1948, when an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forced or fled from their homes amid the creation of the state of Israel.
At least 20 people have been killed in the Strip by Israeli bombardment since the cease-fire was announced on Wednesday early evening, according to the Civil Defense there. Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza had been bombed several times in the hours following the news of a cease-fire, including a strike on a home in Gaza City that killed 18 people.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak, Mountasser Abdallah, and Emmanuel Haddad.