In pictures: Gaza celebrates as truce begins

As the truce went into effect, hordes of people surged onto the streets, clapping and chanting songs of victory. Mohammed Abed/ AFP Photo

Traffic packed out Gaza’s cities, with hundreds of vehicles careering around tooting horns. Mahmud Hams/AFP Photo

Mosques used their loudspeakers to broadcast celebratory chants of “God is greatest” as the war-torn enclave hailed the apparent end to seven weeks of violence. Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas recites a prayer in memory of those killed during the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip, ahead of an announcement that a truce had been reached on August 26, 2014. Abbas Momani/AFP Photo

Children hold up guns (one with an empty magazine) from a car as Palestinians gather in the streets to celebrate. Mohammed Abed/ AFP Photo

The Palestinians said it was a ‘permanent’ truce, while a senior Israeli official described it as ‘unconditional and unlimited in time’. Mohammed Salem/Reuters

beaming women and children flashed victory signs and crowds of young men bounced up and down on rooftops, waving flags. Roberto Schmidt/AFP Photo

As night fell, there was no letup in the celebrations as the rhythmic thud of drums beat a celebratory pulse. Mohammed Abed/ AFP Photo

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced hope that the ceasefire in Gaza will set the stage for talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Suhaib Salem/Reuters

Robert Mickelson

Celebrations erupted in Gaza on Tuesday as a long-term ceasefire agreed by Israel and the Palestinians began, ending 50 days of the deadliest violence in a decade. The conflict has claimed the lives of 2,143 Palestinians and 69 on the Israeli side.

Updated: August 27, 2014, 12:00 AM