Jews and Palestinians in Chicago expressed cautious optimism Tuesday to a ceasefire deal reached by Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire and hostage release agreement will halt more than a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip,

Negotiators reached a phased deal on Wednesday to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. and Qatar said, after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East.

After months of on-off negotiations conducted by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, there is hope that the remaining details of the ceasefire deal will be resolved within hours and could go into effect on Jan.

Hope and mourning are among the mix of emotions brought on by the news of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. In the first phase of the deal – which is set to begin on Sunday – Hamas and Israel agreed to halt fighting in Gaza and to the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians prisoners.