AP
June 20, 2008
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The guns went quiet early yesterday, as a six-month truce between Israel and Gaza Strip militants took effect. But there was widespread skepticism about its ability to hold.
The cease-fire aims to bring an end to fighting that's killed seven Israelis and more than 400 Palestinians, many of them civilians, since Hamas wrested control of Gaza from Fatah a year ago. It also obliges Israel to ease a blockade of the coast.
The sanctions were designed to pressure Palestinian militants to halt their rocket and mortar fire on southern Israel. But they have driven ordinary Gazans deeper into destitution and confined them to their tiny seaside territory.
"I want to be able to sleep without the sound of shelling or warplanes," said Eman Mahmoud, a 22-year-old college student. "We have been living a nightmare . . . I am not sure how long it is going to last, but my dream is that this calm will continue."
