In Gaza and Israel, a Wary Quiet

Israeli children take advantage of the cease-fire by going for a bike ride near Beeri, an area in southern Israel close to the border with the Gaza Strip. (By David Silverman -- Getty Images)

Israeli leaders doubt the sincerity of Hamas's conversion. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a speech before the start of the truce that it was "fragile and likely to be short-lived."

Other Israeli military and civilian officials have said they expect Hamas, or one of the armed groups in Gaza, to violate the cease-fire sooner or later. There is a widespread assumption in Israel that the groups are simply using the truce as an opportunity to rearm and prepare for the next round of battle.

The suspicions are mutual.

"I have no confidence at all that the Israelis will keep their word," said Yousef, the foreign affairs adviser.

Yousef said he had heard a loud bang early in the morning, and first thought it was an attack. It turned out to have been the sonic boom from an Israeli jet -- a reminder that the truce is tenuous. "They're still up there. The F-16s, the Apaches, the drones," Yousef said. "They're not part of the deal."

For the moment, all factions in Gaza say they support Hamas's decision to agree to a cease-fire, although some are not happy about it.

Dawood Shihab, a spokesman for the militant organization Islamic Jihad, said Thursday that his group is completely committed to the cease-fire. But he criticized Hamas's negotiating strategy, saying the group had given up too much for too little in return.

"We're not in charge, so our attitude is different from Hamas's," Shihab said as he sat in his Gaza City office, surrounded by black banners extolling armed struggle. "The crossing points should have been opened as soon as the truce went into effect, and the cease-fire should have also included the West Bank."

Those were among Hamas's original demands, but over months of negotiation mediated by Egypt, the group backed down. Israel now says it will open the border crossings gradually, assuming there is no violence. It is not expected to incorporate the West Bank into the deal, at least not in the immediate future.

Marwan Abdelhamid, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also disparaged Hamas's deal, saying that the group could have made the same arrangement long ago without forcing its people to endure a year under siege.

"I don't think Palestinians today are saying, 'Bravo, Hamas,' " said Abdelhamid, who was in Gaza on Thursday as part of an effort to reconcile Hamas with Abbas's Fatah faction.

Hamas did collect some accolades in the Arab world for getting Israel to back down -- at least temporarily.

"Hamas has emerged for the first time as a regional political force, signing international agreements, after being only a local military and political force," wrote Khaled al-Shami, a columnist for the London-based Arabic daily al-Quds al-Arabi.

Closer to home, Gaza's residents said they were relieved to have some hope that their lives will improve, however slim it may be.

"We've been through a very tough situation, and we've suffered a lot," said Mohammed Abdel Malik, an unemployed 35-year-old. "Now, we need a rest, and maybe this truce will even bring us some good news."

Special correspondent Samuel Sockol in Jerusalem contributed to this report.