Beit Lahiya (Gaza Strip), Feb 25: When night falls over northern Gaza, much of the cityscape of collapsed buildings and piled wreckage turns pitch black. Living inside the ruins of their home, Rawia Tambora’s young sons get afraid of the dark, so she turns on a flashlight and her phone’s light to comfort them, for as long as the batteries last.
Displaced for most of the 16-month-long war, Tambora is back in her house. But it is still a frustrating shell of a life, she says: There is no running water, electricity, heat or services, and no tools to clear the rubble around them.
Nearly 6,00,000 Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza under the now month-old ceasefire in Gaza, according to the United Nations. After initial relief and joy at being back at their homes – even if damaged or destroyed – they now face the reality of living in the wreckage for the foreseeable future.
“Some people wish the war had never ended, feeling it would have been better to be killed,” Tambora said. “I don’t know what we’ll do long-term. My brain stopped planning for the future.”
The six-week ceasefire is due to end Saturday, and it’s uncertain what will happen next. There are efforts to extend the calm as the next phase is negotiated. If fighting erupts again, those who returned to the north could find themselves once again in the middle of it.
A report last week by the World Bank, UN and European Union estimated it will cost some USD 53 billion to rebuild Gaza after entire neighbourhoods were decimated. At the moment, there is almost no capacity or funding to start significant rebuilding.
Earlier in February, Hamas threatened to hold up hostage releases unless more tents and temporary shelters were allowed into Gaza. It then reversed and accelerated hostage releases after Israel agreed to let in mobile homes and construction equipment.
Humanitarian agencies have stepped up services, setting up free kitchens and water delivery stations, and distributing tents and tarps to hundreds of thousands across Gaza, according to the UN. President Donald Trump turned up the pressure by calling for the entire population of Gaza to be removed permanently so the US can take over the territory and redevelop it for others. Rejecting the proposal, Palestinians say they want help to rebuild for themselves. (AP)
