After 15 months of war, both sides have agreed to a historic 3-stage ceasefire deal that could end the conflict. Stage one began on January 19th, with Hamas exchanging 3 Israeli hostages for 90 prisoners. While Western media focuses on the hostages, little attention has been given to the utterly complicated mess left in Gaza and offered little perspective on its future or what it has lost—topics we will explore today.
The drumming of quadcopters and gunfire fades, promising a supposed end to airstrikes and faster aid to feed the hungry and heal the wounded. Celebrations erupted in Gaza and the West Bank, but joy is tempered by the trauma of the past year.
The entire population is mourning the deaths of their loved ones and the complete destruction of their homes. War has wiped out entire family lineages. The UN reports, as of January 14th, 46,645 deaths and about 92% of Gaza’s homes destroyed. Around 200 of the estimated 10,000 bodies in the rubble have been found thus far.
According to the World Health Organisation, only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, and about 30,000 people face life-changing injuries requiring ongoing rehabilitation.
Israel is still maintaining its blockade on imports into Gaza, which prevents the necessary scale of aid from being delivered. Around 897 trucks entered yesterday, which is still not enough to meet the needs. The UN has also stated that, with the blockade in place, it may take more than 350 years to rebuild. Israel is unlikely to lift the blockade without the disposal of Hamas.
Estimates of Gaza’s damages range from $40–80 billion, with 50 million tons of rubble requiring over 15 years to clear, using 100 trucks working full time, at a cost of at least $1.2 billion. International donors are unlikely to invest in a region that has seen 5 wars in less than two decades. The sheer enormity of the responsibility, the price tag, and the lack of political pressure are why we do not even know if Gaza will be rebuilt.
Any names of possible donors for rebuilding have all just been theoretical. Gideon Rachman, writer at the UK’s Financial Times, stated that he has heard EU officials say that Europe will not pay for the reconstruction of Gaza and that the US Congress also seems to be turning against foreign assistance. In the past, many states have pledged funding and not met them, so there is no real plan for Gaza in this regard.
This all may mean that tent camps, acute poverty, catastrophic famine and the essentials of life delivered in measly amounts in trucks may be a permanent fixture in Gaza for many years to come.
The Palestinian struggle has more attention than ever, but hope feels pointless amid the ongoing suffering. But despite this. Despite the lack of intervention and the ignorance of both the elites and the common man, hope still persists in Palestine. I leave you with a snippet from a Christmas sermon by Palestinian Christian pastor Reverend Munther Isaac in Bethlehem:
“We have not and will not lose hope,”
“Yes, it is 76 years of an ongoing Nakba [ethnic cleansing], but it is also 76 years of Palestinian sumud [steadfastness], clinging to our rights and the justice of our cause.”
“The genocide will end one day,”
“But history will remember where people stood. History will remember what they said. They cannot claim that they did not know.”
