RICHMOND, Va. — When Sereen Haddad first heard the news of a finalized ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, she was shocked.
"I didn't all the way believe it because this is something that we've heard before, not to this extent, but we've heard the word 'ceasefire' before," Haddad said. "I was skeptical. We got on a call with one of my close friends, and we start crying. You know, we're like, there's no way this is real."
In the roughly 15 months of fighting, the VCU student said she'd lost around 200 loved ones, still struggling to keep in touch with those who have been displaced multiple times since Israel launched into a war against Hamas after its attack at a music festival on October 7, 2023.
“When we don’t hear from them, we don’t know if it’s because their phone died or because they have died. So you know, it’s difficult," Haddad said.
WATCH: Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire deal to pause Gaza war and release some hostages, mediators say
The ceasefire agreement would start with a hostage exchange and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, according to CBS News. The deal would include access to humanitarian aid.
Haddad said she has her doubts about the agreed-upon ceasefire, set to go into effect Sunday, noting that her sources in Palestine are worried about violence from Israeli forces in the interim.
"One of my friends there, Abdullah, he said that he expects that until Sunday, for there to be absolute bloodshed," Haddad said. "Make no mistake, just because the ceasefire is announced, you know, they're still battling hunger, they're still battling starvation, dehydration. Children have been dying from malnutrition."
She's not the only one with doubts.
Rabbi Dovid Asher with Keneseth Beth in Richmond's West End said the news brings about feelings of trepidation, due to the hostage exchange.
"So, the question will be, are the Jewish communities in that part of the world safe now that these terrorists have been released back into society? And all we can do is really trust security establishment, just like us here in America," Asher said. "We just trust the security establishment that they are experts, they know what they're doing and that they can handle it. But the first feeling, of course, is that the families will be reunited. Loved ones stolen away, kept in horrible conditions, will be able to be home and can begin the rehabilitation process?"
WATCH: Biden ‘deeply satisfied’ with Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal
Asher said the news also made him think about the hostages that died in captivity, like 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who attended Keneseth Beth for some time before Asher became Rabbi.
"October 7th, thousands of terrorists broke through the Israeli border to steal and murder Jews on the worst day in Jewish history in my lifetime. So unfortunately, Hersh will not be coming home alive to be reunited with his family. He was murdered a couple days before rescuers were able to get to him," Asher said.
Haddad also said the news makes her mourn those who were killed.
“We can't help but think about the lives that should be here and the people that should be here to hear that announcement," Haddad said.
Both said they are hesitant about what will actually come from the ceasefire agreement and agree that resolve and rebuilding will take time.
“We will persevere, and we will build back stronger and better, with more resolve, with more unity, and to take that feeling of togetherness that Jews all over the world felt very deeply the pain of October 7, and to take that feeling of unity and togetherness, you know, back to their families, back home, to their neighborhoods, and to strengthen each other as much as we can in the face of astronomic levels of anti-Semitism," Asher said. "I certainly hope that we can move to a point where all people of good conscience are working towards peace and listening to each other.”
"I cannot stress that enough, this is not the time to relax, because we do not want the world to forget about Gaza, to forget about Palestine, and we will not let them forget we need to continue a ceasefire is great. It's a monumental step, but this is just the beginning of the end, and we need to continue to fight," Haddad said.
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