Anadolu staff
16 January 2025•Update: 16 January 2025
ISTANBUL
Joyful celebrations erupted across several Arab countries Wednesday following the announcement of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
The deal includes a prisoner exchange, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a roadmap to sustained calm, with its implementation set to begin Sunday.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani officially announced the breakthrough at a press conference in the capital Doha.
The announcement comes on day 467 of Israel's genocide against Gaza, which with US backing has killed and wounded more than 156,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters in recent times.
In Jordan, streets in the capital Amman came alive with car parades as drivers waved Palestinian flags, played anthems and chanted in support of Gaza's resistance.
Some people distributed sweets while donning Palestinian keffiyehs, shouting “Victory is ours!” and “May God strengthen them!” in reference to the resistance fighters.
In Morocco, Tangier witnessed a celebratory motorcade, while a gathering in the capital Rabat featured participants holding photos of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian flags.
In the occupied West Bank, marches erupted in Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus, according to an Anadolu reporter.
Chants praised Gaza's resilience and its leaders, including Yahiya Sinwar, whose name was invoked in remembrance after his assassination by Israeli forces.
Social media buzzed with clips of jubilant scenes, fireworks and prayers echoing from mosques.
Syria also joined the celebrations, with footage from Aleppo and Hama showing crowds waving Palestinian flags and chanting solidarity slogans like “Gaza, we are with you till death!” according to local media and social media accounts.
Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps in the capital Beirut and across the country echoed with gunfire, fireworks and amplified chants from mosques. Streets in Sidon and Tripoli witnessed convoys of cars draped in Palestinian flags honking in solidarity, Anadolu reported.
Tunisia saw a demonstration outside the municipal theater in the capital Tunis, where protesters chanted “Gaza, symbol of pride” and “No Zionist interests on Tunisian soil” while waving Palestinian flags and embracing one another.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio
