ceasefire

The plan is that a ceasefire will be followed by the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, in return for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The deal caps months of torturous ceasefire negotiations and delivers a denouement to a generation-defining fight in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Word of the ceasefire came early Thursday morning in Gaza, as Mohammad Rajab, 62, was still asleep.

“We’re like drowning people clutching at straws,” he said, adding that the ceasefire meant for him the chance “to return to a normal life.”

Earlier reports claimed the ceasefire had already begun, but Israeli airstrikes and artillery still continued to pound the enclave Thursday, with health authorities in the enclave saying at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.