GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Men, women and children went out on the streets of the Gaza Strip, a few minutes past 7 p.m., after the 51-day war was finally over. Hundreds gathered in the streets, raising Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags, while a few raised the flags of Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Hala, a little girl, sticks her head out of the car and cheers, “Izz ad-Din Brigades!” Other men and women cheer joyfully celebrating the war’s end, while patriotic songs blast through speakers and “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, the resistance has won,” can be heard from the mosques’ loudspeakers.