A truce in the 15-month conflict, which has ravaged the Gaza Strip and set the Middle East on fire, took effect Sunday with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.
Attention is now beginning to shift to rebuilding the coastal enclave that was devastated by the Israeli military in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.
In that attack, according to Israeli data, 1,200 people were killed, and around 250 hostages were taken to Gaza. More than 47,000 Palestinians were killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
– We are looking for 10,000 martyrs whose bodies were left under the rubble – said Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Service for Emergency Situations.
Displaced Gaza resident Mohamed Gomaa lost his brother and nephew in the war.
– It was a big shock, and the number of those who felt shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it is destruction, complete destruction. It’s not like an earthquake or a flood, no, what happened is a war of extermination – he said.
With the growing flow of aid to the Palestinian enclave, residents have flocked to markets, with some expressing delight at lower prices and the presence of new food items such as imported ones.
The deal calls for 600 aid trucks to be allowed into Gaza each day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 fuel trucks. Half of the aid trucks will be delivered to the north, where experts have warned famine is imminent.
– Prices have fallen, the war is over and the crossing is open for new goods – said Aya Mohammad-Zaki, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who took refuge in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, reports Reuters.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
