Diaries from Gaza: 'What did the first phase of the cease-fire achieve that allowed the second phase to begin?'

Noor al-Yacoubi is a 27-year-old media coordinator at a local research center, translator and writer. She hasn't left the Gaza Strip since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, and has been sharing reflections on her life with L'Orient Today since the beginning of the war in Gaza and following the cease-fire.When Steve Witkoff announced the cease-fire’s second phase a few days ago, I felt some relief and smiled. I told myself that we were moving forward, that peace was getting closer, that this cease-fire might finally rest on solid ground.For a moment, I let my mind believe.I pictured Gaza the way I dream of seeing it — dynamic, bustling and whole. I imagined the tents vanishing, replaced by real houses with walls that could hold warmth. I imagined its streets cleared of the grey rubble, and alive again. I imagined trees replanted,...