Although Israel and Hamas signed a peace agreement in mid-October, flare-ups in the ceasefire continue to occur.

Last week, Israel carried out strikes retaliating for Hamas’ alleged killing of an Israeli soldier in an area agreed to be controlled by Israeli forces. Over 100 Palestinians were killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel maintains it was targeting terrorists in the strike.

A number of students at DePaul have family and friends in the region, and they share a mix of relief about the peace process starting and skepticism about whether it will continue beyond the first stage.

Leen Hashlamoun, a DePaul junior, is the chair of SGA’s DEI Committee and is also Palestinian. She said she hopes peace will persist in the region but is unsure of the ceasefire’s longevity.

“The ceasefire deal was very complex,” Hashlamoun said. “It took a lot to get there. One of the biggest fears, at least that I know from the community, is ‘Will it continue?’ There’s been a lot of issues with ceasefires in the past.”

The last attempted ceasefire in Gaza failed in March. In the new ceasefire, both Hamas and Israel currently accuse each other of violating the terms of the agreement. 

Michael Kaminsky, a DePaul senior and the president of the Students Supporting Israel (SSI) chapter at DePaul, said he stayed up all night to watch the return of the living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13.

“To see the return of 20 hostages come home to their families is beyond words,” Kaminsky said.

The peace agreement hinged on the return of all living hostages and all deceased hostages who were locatable within 72 hours of it going into effect. Eight of the 28 deceased hostages are still unaccounted for. The remains of three deceased hostages, including those of American-Israeli citizen Omer Neutra, were returned on Sunday.

“In the Jewish religion, you can’t start mourning until you have buried the body, and the family cannot start that grieving process until they have buried somebody — so it is extremely difficult for the family,” Kaminsky said.

Kaminsky was one of two students who were attacked while showing support for Israel outside the Student Center in November 2024. One of the suspects is being charged with two counts of a hate crime and two counts of aggravated battery with great bodily harm. The victims, Max Long and Kaminsky, are suing DePaul for alleged safety and security failures.

On this year’s Oct. 7 anniversary, SSI hosted a vigil on the Arts & Letters patio in honor of the hostages taken by Hamas. SSI has avoided publicizing its events due to safety and harassment concerns, Kaminsky said.

“We had professors come. We had Jewish students come. We had non-Jewish students come, Eastern Orthodox, Christian, Muslim, so many people come,” he said in reference to the vigil.

Other leaders of Jewish student organizations on campus expressed relief regarding the return of the living hostages. Lauren Levensaler is a Faith-In-Action Scholar for the Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care offices and serves as a DePaul Hillel board officer.

In a statement to The DePaulia, she said the return of the living hostages and the end of the war was “eagerly awaited” by DePaul’s Jewish community.

“While we celebrate the reunion of the hostages with their families, we do not want to forget there are bodies still yet to be returned for proper and respectful burial,” Levensaler said. “It is my deepest hope that the ceasefire will hold indefinitely and that everyone in the region can mourn, rebuild and recover from two years of relentless tragedy.”

Amber Martin, president of Kehilla, a Jewish cultural organization on campus, said she represents a pluralistic campus group and cannot speak for all opinions regarding the ceasefire in a statement.

“Kehilla is a group that celebrates culture, and does not center around politics,” Martin wrote. “However, I will say that I believe that this is a step in the right direction, and we are happy to see that the war is starting to come to an end.”

Abdul Akhras, DePaul senior and finance major, is the co-president of DePaul’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter. He is originally from Ramallah, a city in the West Bank, and he recently visited his family in the region to harvest olive oil.

“I truly hope that the people of Gaza can see these points come to life — and that has to be held up by both ends of the spectrum,” Akhras said.

Following a controversial Instagram post about alleged Israeli organ harvesting, DePaul sanctioned the group, and SJP is not allowed to host events on campus nor use social media with DePaul’s name. Akhras said the university will make a decision on whether the club will continue to be restricted in the coming weeks.

“We will be protecting our students. We will be protecting each other. We will be holding hands to fight against oppression, to fight against injustice, because that’s what DePaul students stand for,” Akhras said.

Like Akhras, SGA Vice President Ahmad Barakat has family in the West Bank, and he said the presence of Israeli forces in that area has only grown since the war began.

“We have to deal with the day-to-day academics, but also ‘Is our family alive back home?’ — especially the people that have family in Gaza,” Barakat said. “I’ve spoken to a lot of Palestinians who have family there, and you can’t even ask the question, ‘Are they OK?’ — because we know the answer. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for them.”

Hashlamoun, the SGA representative, reiterated the uncertainty she feels regarding the future of the region.

“You want really badly to believe that everything is over, like it’s OK,” Hashlamoun said. “But the reality for a majority of Middle Eastern students and Middle Easterners in general is that you don’t know anything — and that’s a very constant grief and fear that you live with.”

DePaul Chabad, a Jewish student club, did not respond to The DePaulia’s request for comment.

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