Gaza’s streets, empty and quiet during a week of violence, were once again flooded with cars and people on November 21 as life returned to normal after a truce deal between Hamas and Israel. Outside the Parliament building, thousands gathered for a celebration organized by Hamas, many waving the movement’s green flag.
The Hamas prime minister of the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, called on all Palestinian factions to respect a truce deal reached with Israel. “I salute the resistance factions who have respected the agreement since it entered into force and I ask everyone to respect it and act accordingly,” Haniyeh said in a Gaza City speech. Hamas declared a public holiday — “a national holiday of victory.” It called on Palestinians “to celebrate this occasion and visit the families of the martyrs and the wounded and those affected by the violence, and to affirm national solidarity.”