As Hamas and Israel move closer to a ceasefire deal after 15 months of fighting, a number of displaced people in Deir al-Balah have voiced concern about what they might return home to find.

Mediator Qatar says a Gaza ceasefire deal is at the closest point it has been in the past few months, adding that many of the obstacles in the negotiations have been ironed out.As ceasefire negotiations advance, residents in Gaza are expressing “a mixture of optimism and deep-seated scepticism.

At least 61 Palestinians have been killed and 281 others injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 46,645 Palestinians and wounded 110,012 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.