Israel has been clear about its plans to force Palestinians from Gaza, and Egypt is now reportedly building an area to receive them. Palestinians need a respite from Israel’s brutality, but mass displacement into the Sinai would be a catastrophe.
After several days of reported negotiations, Hamas says it will not accept anything less than complete ceasefire, blames Israel for stalling a ceasefire agreement.
Potential ceasefire deal still at discussion stage, as U.S. President Joe Biden calls Hamas counter-proposal “a little over the top.” Israel continues to bomb Rafah and Khan Younis in Gaza, as Israeli forces raid the West Bank, killing one teenager.
Many Palestinians have been stranded in Egypt since the start of the war and suffer from poverty as they struggle to contact their loved ones. “Whenever I watch TV, I die a hundred times a day,” says Amnah Alshimbari, whose family remains in Gaza.
Critics of U.S. aid to Egypt ask why ask pointedly why the Biden administration is giving $1.3 billion to a military regime that has an estimated 60,000 political prisoners, one of the highest totals in the world. The answer is that the U.S. has been bribing Egypt for the past 4 decades to maintain peace with Israel, and this year’s military aid is just the latest payoff.
Three Palestinian young people share the tremendous challenges they face due to the Israeli occupation.
Ibrahim Atta looks out at a dusty field of grasses on a hot Gaza afternoon in early fall and declares this land was once a fertile “piece of heaven.” Twenty years ago, he was earning an income from selling produce grown on this nine-acre family plot, but today Atta is no longer able to safely access the farm. The last time he tried to reach the land was in 2015. Israeli forces positioned on the other side of the fence “fired two tear gas bombs just under my feet,” Atta said. “I left and have not gone again. I just look at it from a distance and can’t get close, they may kill me.”
Unlike the three previous wars on Gaza, the May war, albeit shorter – eliminated many of my childhood and teenage years’ memories. It was more personal than the others. This time, Israel stepped up its aggressiveness by attacking the heart of Gaza City, a place that often escaped the intense bombing. And in the two weeks I stayed there in June, I don’t think there was a single day without the drone noise in the background.
Over 16,000 housing units were damaged during the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, and 1,800 units were completely destroyed. While that destruction is immense, what those numbers don’t capture is what else was lost in those places — the irreplaceable photos, keepsakes, and possessions and that made each a home.
Mohammed Moussa recounts his harrowing attempt to travel from Gaza to Turkey, which included interminable waits, abuse, and extortion. “I did not feel alive again until I arrived at Istanbul airport, and was considered and treated like a normal human being. ”