Palestinian and Jewish Australians share hope after Gaza ceasefire deal

Members of Australia's Palestinian and Jewish communities with family and friends impacted by the war have been tracking the progress of ceasefire negotiations from afar over recent days.

With news of a deal being struck, several say the hope and anticipation is being shadowed by trepidation about whether it will hold and what the future will look like.

Keren Lewisohn grew up in an Israeli community near the border with Gaza and has been checking her phone in the middle of the night in Melbourne for updates on the deal.

"It's been very promising, but I didn't want to have my hopes up too much because we've been so close, so many times."

Seeing the announcement this morning "gave (her) a bit of hope" but she said, "we're still really concerned, and we're not celebrating".

More than 60 people were killed in Kfar Aza, the kibbutz where she was raised and where her family lived until October 7, and 18 were taken hostage.

Five of those hostages are still being held, and she is expecting three will be in the 33 released under the first phase of the deal, but she worries about others not included.

"We're still going to have like 60 hostages [in Gaza], of them probably 30 or more that are alive and have no end to their suffering."

Ms Lewisohn is also concerned that Hamas has not been eliminated, that the ideology "is not going away" and the "threat will always be there" of another attack like that seen on October 7.

Her family wants to return to their kibbutz but says "this deal at the moment does not provide that security".

"All we can do is be hopeful and optimistic that this can be a stepping stone to some long-term ceasefire and agreement."

But she is concerned true co-existence won't be seen "in our lifetime" after what has occurred.

Palestinians 'still watching' ahead of ceasefire start date

Wael Abo Shaban was born in Gaza and now lives in the town of Morwell in South-Eastern Victoria.

He said it was a "relief" to hear the news of the ceasefire "which we were calling for, for the last 15 months".

While he now lives in Australia, much of his family remains in Gaza and he has struggled to watch the war from the other side of the world.

"My family is really huge up there [in Gaza]. From my family only we have over 120 murdered and missing, and maybe over 300 injured," he told ABC Radio Goulburn Murray.

Mr Abo Shaban did not want to have his photo published as part of this story.

The deal will see Israeli forces withdraw from populous areas and displaced Palestinians be allowed to return, although many neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble.

He said Gazans were "happy the ceasefire is going to take place" but still worried about the future.

"The ceasefire is just temporary now, we are not sure if the Israeli government would really go with it. This will start this Sunday, so from now to Sunday we're still watching," he said.

"My people in Gaza — all Gazans — are really watching."

He said his concerns were because the "Israeli political leadership is dominated by extremists under an ultra-national figure" that "restricts Palestinian rights" and has overseen their "suffering".

Despite his unease, he remained optimistic.

"We hope for all communities, in both [Israel and Palestine], because war doesn't bring [anything] except destruction."

Tensions in Australia remain

Both Jewish and Palestinian community leaders say the war has dramatically altered the lives of people in Australia.

There have dramatic increases in reports of both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, including the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne.

The CEO of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Naomi Levin, said "every Jew around the world has changed from what's happened over the last 15 months."

"I think the first thing we all need to remember is that first and foremost we're all Australians," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

She said regardless of what was happening overseas they wanted to build a "peaceful and united Australia".

"Have a discussion with us, but don't see us as a party to this conflict, because that's what we really feel we've been cast as over the past few months."

The president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network Nasser Mashni said he "felt changed as an Australian".

"I never thought I would feel the sense of not belonging, like I do," he said.

"I never thought the country that afforded my father refuge when he was exiled as a stateless person from his ancient homeland in Palestine — that his child and his grandchild would feel like an 'other'."

He placed blame with the leader of the opposition and sections of the media for making Palestinian Australians and their supporters feel like "they don't belong".

Ms Levin said her "gut feel" was that people in the Jewish community had "shifted politically" as a result of what has happened, and while acknowledging people vote on a range of issues, many "have been talking about the different parties' responses to this crisis".