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M. Pérez
Domingo, 19 de enero 2025, 19:36
Gaza no longer looks to the skies for armed drones nor listens for the sound of combat helicopters. Since shortly after 10:30 local time, the inhabitants of the Strip are experiencing their first moments of eased panic. Of calm. Perhaps not of peace, as the occupied territories remain a place where everything reminds one of war. And where too many weapons accumulate.
The ceasefire has not resolved the misery, but it has brought silence from mortars and missiles to this corner. "I never thought I would see this moment. I, and everyone, were too accustomed to death, to the sounds of gunfire, and to fleeing as soon as we saw Israeli aviation," explains Yonah, a former transporter who dreams of returning to Gaza City and finding another delivery van. "I don't know if there will be any shops left standing, but it's time we start working on reconstruction."
"How beautiful the sky is without planes," describes a refugee to a national media outlet. "The sound of drones will never leave our heads. It has been a constant, and you never knew if it was targeting you," admits another, still with some terror. Amoz, 47, was truly tormented by the images he saw on social media of the Abasan al-Kabira camp burning after a bombing that left nearly thirty dead. Each night for weeks, he recounts reliving those scenes when he lay down to sleep in his tent with his wife and three children. "Everything there could burn over us," he says.
The war between Israel and Hamas has cost nearly 47,000 lives, but the last ones before a truce are often particularly atrocious. During the two-hour delay in declaring the ceasefire (Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to declare it until he had in his hands the list from Hamas with the first three hostages they would release), the army's artillery and drones continued to reap tragedies. According to the high command, several "terrorist targets" were dismantled, and the toll of the skirmish rose to 15 dead and about twenty injured. "How many martyrs have died in two hours," lamented a Palestinian on social media.
The legacy of the war has also left a number above 110,000 wounded, unmanageable for a region with a broken and bleeding healthcare system. Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken has referred to the Gazan drama and highlighted how there is no one in the Strip who has not lost a loved one. From now on, Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, believes he will spend several weeks in Gaza to ensure the peace agreement does not derail by Hamas or Israel. Netanyahu described this Saturday the first phase as a "temporary ceasefire" while negotiating the next stage. Trump's team has guaranteed that all captives will be released.
There are hardly any plans for the day after. A resident tells journalists that he is content with finding some habitable room in his house in the north and being lucky enough that there are no bodies buried under the rubble nearby. At least 11,000 missing persons remain to be located during the conflict.
This week, an Israeli analyst wondered how Gaza can rise from the ashes when 90% of homes have been reduced to ruins or suffer severe damage, impossible to repair by a predominantly impoverished population. A proposal from Donald Trump's team, the US president since this Monday, January 20, suggests taking some of the displaced (between 1.5 and 2 million) out of the Strip and housing them in other countries until the buildings are rebuilt. However, it does not seem like an initiative likely to succeed given the international rejection of a new massive refugee crisis and the refusal of many Gazans to leave for fear that the government will not let them return.
In the northern half, 70% of the localities have been devastated and resemble the lunar surface where the 200-kilogram bombs of the Israeli air force have fallen. The bombs. Staying outdoors, in tents devoid of services or minimal hygiene, is not a long-term option. But the explosives are another danger.
The authorities have warned citizens via loudspeakers, especially those moving north, to take extreme precautions, not to enter piles of rubble, or touch anything that might conceal a booby trap or an unexploded device. There are thousands after fifteen months of continuous aerial bombardments with jets and drones, and fierce urban combat where all available ammunition is used.
The return home of thousands of refugees began even hours before 8:30, the scheduled time to implement the ceasefire. They want to reach their places of origin as soon as possible to discover if everything or anything is intact or to reunite with loved ones. The army has informed them not to approach military positions to avoid incidents.
Some videos going viral on this day, which a sector of Palestinians calls "the victory," show families hugging, people shouting with joy, children expressing happiness like never before in over a year, and women distributing sweets. The night does not turn into day because "there are so many martyrs to mourn," but it does resemble a slow dawn. It is also possible to see Hamas militants. Many, a real flood of armed individuals perched on vans or on foot, celebrating a kind of "triumphal parade" near Rafah. They understand that the truce is a success of the Islamist resistance.
They are feted by many civilians. An essayist from Jerusalem concludes that all these ceremonies of strength demonstrate that Hamas has never lost control. And he wonders where those numerous white vans came from, in which they jubilantly roam the streets if Israel has worked hard to destroy their infrastructure and blow up their tunnels.
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