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Chicago Israeli, Palestinian advocates optimistic about new plan for ceasefire

Chicago advocates for each side react to possible Gaza ceasefire
Chicago advocates for each side react to possible Gaza ceasefire 02:27

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A ceasefire could be coming to Gaza after 465 days of fighting, with U.S. and Israeli officials telling CBS News both sides have agreed to the deal "in principle."

The development is something that Chicagoans cautiously optimistic. The caution comes because there have been ceasefire talks that have failed in the past, but advocates for the Israeli and Palestinian causes alike are optimistic nonetheless.

In Gaza, buildings are reduced to rubble, and entire neighborhoods lie in ruin. It becomes hard to see hope.

"We have learned to not get our hopes up just because all the previous ones failed, so we generally thought this was just going to be another one," said Husam Marajda, Chicago chapter co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

But after more than a year of fighting for Palestine, Marajda said this latest deal might finally be the one that sticks and makes a ceasefire come through.

"It's only just for them to return to their homes, to be able to rebuild their infrastructure and to live freely," Marajda said.

The deal proposes a roughly 42-day truce, during which Hamas would release 33 hostages in small groups, while Israel pulls back their military and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

It has been more than a year since the deal that freed more than 100 Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

"I just read a report talking about how for the hostage families, tonight feels like the longest night," said Dan Goldwyn, chief public affairs officer for the Jewish United Fund, "because they feel like they might just be that close."

Goldwyn said there are still 98 hostages waiting to come home, and even 6,000 miles away, Chicago's Jewish community waits for their return.

"The Jewish community is pretty small. The Jewish Israeli community is really small. Everybody is not that far—six degrees—the separation is nothing," said Goldwyn. "We all know someone who knows someone, or we know someone directly."

If accepted, the first phase of the ceasefire would allow a flood of aid and rebuilding—reasons for hope after more than 400 days of fighting.

"So many lives we have lost. So many lives destroyed. So many people displaced," said Marajda. "It didn't have to. They didn't need to. This could have ended a long time ago."

There are still many details that would need to be finalized under this multi-phase deal. Everyone also said a deal is one thing, but sticking to it is another concern.

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