Families in the rain-ravaged Gaza describe watching news of the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon with relief, hope and, for some, feelings of complete abandonment.
Deep depression has settled in the heart of Deir el-Balah, where people are fed up with almost 14 months of constant Israeli attacks.
Several people who spoke to Al Jazeera on Wednesday said that while they are happy that “their Lebanese brothers have reached the peak”, they are waiting to see.
They said the people of Gaza have endured hundreds of times more than they can handle.
‘What about us?’
Maysaa Khalil, who moved from the Zeitoun area of Gaza City to Khan Younis in southern Gaza a year ago, said that when she heard the news from her husband, she immediately asked: “What about us?”
“Why not stop both wars until one party starts it: Israel?” he asked.
“We are happy for Lebanon, yes,” he added, “but we feel that we have been forgotten.”
Meanwhile, Hamedi, from Beit Hanoon in the north, said he is optimistic
“I’m thinking about starting [of a ceasefire in Gaza] maybe they will start in the next three days, maybe four,” he said from a barren tent in the camp where the United Nations manages some of the two million Gazans who have fled Deir el-Balah.
His friend Fadi also expressed his happiness: “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has his victory. He has time to end the war with Hezbollah. The next stage will be Gaza. “
“They can negotiate easily now,” he said of the ongoing peace talks in Cairo and Doha that have been ongoing throughout the war. “I’m not sure we’ll see any progress in the next few days, but maybe in the weeks.”
Hussein, who works for an aid organization and hails from a village in northern Gaza, was subjected to severe testing.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We never imagined what the war would be like. We never imagined how bad it could be. I don’t think we are ready to predict when it will end.
“It is true that many feel hope now that it will end in Gaza. However, some feel abandoned,” he said about the suspension of Hezbollah’s operations that were established to support Gaza.
“Some are feeling alone, as if the world has forgotten them,” he said as conditions in the detention centers continued to worsen.
‘Gaza facts are different’
On Wednesday night, while the final touches were being put on the ceasefire, Israel attacked the school and the surrounding areas. in Gaza killing at least 15 people and hurt many others.
“Throughout the night, the sound of Israeli strikes on the central and different areas of Gaza has not stopped. This means that Israel continues its war in Gaza,” said Mohammed Ismail, one of the thousands of people who have left northern Gaza for Deir el -Balah, he said.
He said he feared that the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon could signal a further escalation in Gaza.
“The reality of Gaza is very different,” he said. “Israel still wants to implement more plans, and there seems to be no real political and international will to stop this war, especially in the United States.”
As the temperature drops, rain has begun to fall in Gaza, submerging the canvas tents of refugees crowded into unequipped camps. Some displaced people are living in schools that have been converted into shelters, many of which are operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
“You can’t find plastic,” Hussein said, explaining that Israel had banned entry into Gaza, saying it could be used in war.
Hussein could not have imagined what plastic weapons for military use would be.
“If you can find it, one [sheet] they will take you 500 shekels [$136]. “A tent needs three or four plastic sheets, so instead families have to use cloth that does not protect against cold or rain,” he said.
Northern Gaza, suffering from the Israeli siege since early October, conditions described by UN officials as “apocalyptic”.
Toilets in the streets
With almost all of Gaza’s weapons destroyed by Israel in the first six months of its war, the refugees have no choice but to bury sewage in what is now a polluted area.
“You can smell everything,” Hussein said of the toilet that he said now runs freely in the street.
Children have to play with them. It’s amazing.”
During a visit to Gaza in mid-November, Netanyahu, who is currently according to the international arrest warrant for war crimesit did not indicate that Israel’s war would end.
“We are destroying it [Hamas’s] martial arts in a very impressive way,” he said in a video published after the visit.
He then offered a $5m reward for the return of the remaining captives in Gaza, which the Israeli army has not yet done after killing more than 44,000 people in Gaza.
Among the crimes mentioned in the arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu and his former minister Yoav Gallant is “the war crime of starvation as a method of war”.
Leave a Reply