Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Atlanta families remain cautiously relieved
Georgians react to Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Families affected by the conflict, such as Ghada Elnajjar's, express relief at the temporary reprieve from violence, though they remain cautious about the future.
ATLANTA - The first 36 hours of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has seen three Israeli hostages released and 90 Palestinian prisoners freed.
Israeli troops have withdrawn from key cities in the Gaza Strip.
Those impacted by this conflict in metro Atlanta are breathing a sigh of relief but are not rejoicing yet.
A family shattered by the war
What they're saying:
"This is my cousin Mohammed. He was a beautiful soul," Ghada Elnajjar says through tears as she shows pictures of some of her Palestinian family members she has lost in the war in Gaza.
"He died in an airstrike in January of 2024. A year ago, and that's how his brother died as well. And they died together. They were sleeping in the same room. They were best friends," Elnajjar said. "We've lost over 100 members of my family."
Which is why she’s relieved to finally see her family get a reprieve from the war. "It was a little bit of a relief that there would be a break from the bombings and the airstrikes so that people can take a little bit of rest to assess their situation if they were people who have lost their homes. Many of my relatives have also lost their homes," she said.
(Supplied)
The Ceasefire
What we know:
On Sunday, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel went into effect.
Which has now seen the release of three Israeli hostages in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners.
"It's really a tremendous feeling to have watched the videos of the three young women who were released from captivity after 470 days of being held by Hamas in the dungeons of Gaza," said Dov Wilker, Southern Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee.
(Supplied)
Working to bring the hostages home
Local perspective:
His group has worked to spread and maintain public awareness of the remaining Israeli hostages.
The American Jewish Committee even helped facilitate a meeting of hostage families with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
"Including one whose sister, Ramy Ghonim, was released yesterday," Wilker said.
He says the fragile ceasefire is still in its very early stages.
"We need to remember that there are an additional 30 hostages that will be released as a part of this current deal. And there's another 64, so a total of 94 hostages for whom we're waiting to have returned home," Wilker said.
The expectations and hope for the new president
Big picture view:
During his inauguration Monday, newly sworn-in President Donald Trump reiterated his promise that his administration would "stop all wars."
For the sake of her surviving family members in the Gaza Strip, Elnajjar hopes President Trump will follow through.
"All we have is hope. And I hope he delivers on his promise," she said.
(Supplied)
What's next:
Wilker also applauded the cooperation of both the outgoing and incoming administrations on the ceasefire deal.
"We also need to express our gratitude to both the Biden and Trump administrations for negotiating this deal. It was a real unprecedented relationship between the two campaigns, between the two leadership teams," he said.
He said he hopes the Trump administration will keep up the pressure on both Hamas and the Israeli government to see this deal through to the end.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press and gathered from interviews conducted by FOX 5 reporter Eric Mock.