The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MD) today shared reactions from local Palestinians following reports of a potential ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
For two years, Maryland’s Palestinian communities have mourned and grieved the loss of loved ones martyred in Israel’s ruthless campaign of relentless bombardment, displacement and starvation wiping out generations of families from the civil registry. The prospect of even a partial halt to Israel’s assault is being met with a range of reactions mixed with both guarded relief and skepticism.
In a statement, journalist and author Laila El-Haddad of Howard County said:
“I have spent these past two years trying to hold my surviving family’s world together in what feels like a race against time. We cling to what little hope remains, resisting erasure however we can, even as we fall apart inside. More than 200 members of my family have been killed—using our taxpayer dollars. While we all long for an end to the slaughter and some measure of relief for our families, what’s being offered is not peace but a false choice: slow strangulation under siege or continued bombardment. There are no guarantees of freedom, no accountability, no enforcement, and only conditional Israeli withdrawals. This is not a solution; it is a strategy to seal Gaza’s fate.”
“A ceasefire means my family in Gaza might get a night of sleep without airstrikes, but it cannot erase the trauma of what we’ve already lost,” said **Omar S., a Palestinian American from Montgomery County who has lost dozens of relatives in Israeli strikes since October 2023. “We need more than pauses – we need freedom.”
“Every day I wake up to messages of loss,” said **Hoda A. “Israeli attacks killed ten members of my immediate family—my sister, her husband, and their two daughters. One was twenty-seven and died with her three children, ages one, three, and five. The other was only eleven. I also lost twenty-three relatives from my extended family. The survivors now live in makeshift tents because Israeli forces destroyed our homes.”
“Like many Marylanders from Gaza, I feel emotionally and financially drained as I struggle to help my loved ones survive hunger, fear, and grief,” said **Wafa E. “News of a possible ceasefire offers fragile hope, but after two years of sleepless nights, we need more than promises—we need a real and lasting ceasefire so our families can live and rebuild their lives” said Jehad Edwan of Boyds, Maryland.
“My brother was killed early in this genocide,” said **Hosam W. “Now my sister tells me she has no food and her babies have no milk. I hear the cries of hungry children asking for bread, and my heart races with anger, despair, and helplessness. I ask how our leaders can allow this suffering to go on.”
“In my darkest moments, I have battled thoughts of despair — but I push them aside and search for ways to help,” said **Ahmad S. “Still, I wake up night after night, wondering if my loved ones are still alive.”
“For two years we have been calling for a ceasefire — a simple lifeline for civilians,” said Adnan S. “Every human being deserves peace, dignity, and the chance to live without fear.”
“Israel’s brutal rampage of violence and terror against Palestinians must end immediately and permanently,” said CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry. “In the last 24 hours following the breaking news, at least 77 more Palestinians – mostly children – have been martyred in Gaza by Israel. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow unrestricted into every corner of Gaza and Palestine must be liberated from Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation and colonial interference. Palestinian liberation is the only path to peace. Palestinians have every right to live with safety and dignity on their land.”
Palestinian community members in Maryland underscore that a ceasefire would provide relief, but true justice requires addressing the root causes of the violence: decades of Israel’s illegal occupation, blockade, and systemic denial of Palestinian human rights.
CAIR joins people of conscience in Maryland and across the globe to support a clear political process that leads to a just and lasting peace rooted in liberation, dignity, and equality for Palestinians.
CAIR urges Maryland’s elected leaders to stand on the side of justice by amplifying these demands and ensuring Maryland and U.S. policy upholds human rights and international law.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com