Quiet Reigns In Israel, Gaza As Truce Takes Hold

Beach Deir el-Balah, Central Gaza Strip

From Yahoo News:

SDEROT, Israel - Raz Elraz, for the first time, will be able to take his 14-month-old son to a playground in this rocket-scarred Israeli town. A few miles away in Gaza, Palestinian teenagers ride their bicycles, and Hamas guards play pingpong.

The six-month truce that took effect Thursday was welcomed by both sides, although the Palestinian economy is still being held in check by a closed border.

The cease-fire is meant to end Palestinian rocket barrages and Israeli reprisals in Gaza that have killed more than 400 Palestinians — many of them civilians — and seven Israelis in fighting since the Islamic Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago.

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News From Other Sources:
Calm For Now -- Al-Ahram
Truce between Israel and Hamas begins -- BBC Radio
Just make-believe -- Haaratz
Israel and Hamas remain on war footing despite ceasefire -- Times Online
Gaza militants and Israel begin fragile truce -- Guardian
News Analysis: Israel-Hamas truce, opportunity or stopgap? -- CCTV

My Comment: When I was looking for a picture to put at the top of this post, I noticed that 95% of all available pictures from the region today were made up of militants wearing ski-masks, Israeli tanks, or gun wielding militia men. Not an optimistic sign that peace will be around for a while.

The picture I choose was a from beach area in central Gaza filled with kids having a good time. Let us hope that this is the picture that both sides remember when they start shooting again.