Despite displacement, Gaza families strive to create joy this Ramadan, navigating grief, scarcity, and fragile peace.

At the Bureij refugee area in central Gaza, Maisoon al-Barbarawi welcomes the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in her tent.

Simple decorations hang from its worn ceiling, alongside colourful drawings on the fabric walls, prepared by camp residents to mark the arrival of the blessed month.

“We brought you decorations and a small lantern,” Maisoon tells her nine-year-old son, Hasan, smiling with an exhaustion tinged with joy at her ability to buy him a Ramadan lantern.

“My means are limited, but what matters is that the children feel happy,” Maisoon tells Al Jazeera, expressing cautious optimism about the month’s arrival.

“I wanted these decorations to be a way out of the atmosphere of grief and sadness that has accompanied us over the past two years during the war.”

Maisoon, known to everyone as Umm Mohammed, is 52 years old and a mother of two children.

“My older son is 15, and the younger is nine years. They are the most precious things I have.”

“Every day they are safe is a day worth gratitude and joy,” she says with pride mixed with fear, referring to the terror that has accompanied her throughout the war at the thought of losing them.

Like other Palestinians in Gaza, what distinguishes this Ramadan is the relative calm that has come with the current ceasefire, compared with the previous two years, when Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, was at its peak.

“The situation is not completely calm,” Maisoon explains. Everyone knows the war hasn’t truly stopped; shelling still happens from time to time. But compared to the height of the war, things are less intense.”

Maisoon participates in camp administration activities, helping prepare bread and arrange dates and water for distribution, minutes before the call to prayer on the first day of Ramadan.

“This is the third Ramadan we’ve spent in displacement. We lost our homes, our families, and many loved ones.”

“But here in the camp, we have neighbours and friends who share the same pain and suffering, and we all want to support one another socially.”

Maisoon lost her home in southeastern Gaza at the beginning of the war and was forced to flee with her husband, Hassouna, and their children, moving between camps before eventually settling in Bureij under what she describes as “very bad conditions”.

“We are trying to create life and joy out of nothing. Ramadan and Eid come and go, but our situation remains the same,” she says after a brief pause.

‘Wounded from within’

Maisoon’s words fluctuate between optimism and fear, but she insists that Ramadan is “a blessing”, despite everything around her.

On the first day of Ramadan, she had not yet decided what she would cook for her family, as her limited means would only allow for a modest meal.

But she had already prepared her prayers and wishes before breaking her fast.

“I will pray that the war never returns. That is my daily prayer: that things calm down completely and that the army withdraw from our land,” she says, pointing to bullet holes in her tent caused by gunfire from an Israeli quadcopter drone days earlier.

Fear of the war’s return during Ramadan is not unique to Maisoon, but is shared by many across the Gaza Strip, who worry about a renewed escalation, similar to last year when fighting resumed on March 19, 2025, coinciding with the second week of Ramadan.

That renewed war was accompanied by the closure of crossings and a ban on food aid entering the enclave, triggering a severe food crisis and humanitarian famine that lasted until last September.

“People these days keep talking about stocking up. They tell us: store flour, store food… the war is coming back,” Maisoun says anxiously.

“Last Ramadan was famine and war at the same time. I spent all my money during the previous famine.”

“My little son used to pray for death because he craved food. Can you imagine?”

Bitter memories

Gaza enters this year’s Ramadan under a “ceasefire” that began on October 10, 2025.

That truce remains fragile, but reports from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicate a relative improvement in the availability of certain food items, compared with periods of severe escalation and closures.

Commercial activity has partially resumed, and aid has entered at a steadier pace, though the flow remains inconsistent and subject to restrictions and logistical obstacles.

Despite a broader range of goods appearing in markets, prices remain high, and purchasing power is severely weakened, with large segments of the population still reliant on humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs.

Many Palestinians in Gaza continue to rely on aid organisations to eat.

Hanan al-Attar is one of them. She received a food parcel from a relief organisation on the first day of Ramadan.

Opening the package with a broad smile, she celebrates its contents while her grandchildren gather around her.

“This is fava beans, halva, dates, tahini, oil, lentils, beans, spreadable cheese, mortadella, mashallah, an excellent parcel,” Hanan tells her daughter standing nearby.

“This will be perfect for tomorrow’s suhoor,” she says, referring to the predawn meal before Muslims begin fasting for the day.

Hanan, 55, is a mother of eight who fled to Deir el-Balah a year ago from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, one of the hardest-hit places by Israel during the war.

She tells Al Jazeera that she will have to depend on whatever aid arrives to sustain her during Ramadan, due to her difficult economic situation.

“Today, thank God, we received assistance. This will ease my worry about what we will break our fast with,” says Hanan, who shares a tent with 15 family members, including children and grandchildren.

Smiling, she admits she secretly set aside a small amount of money to prepare a tray of potatoes with minced meat and rice for the first iftar.

“I saved a small amount to buy a kilo of meat tomorrow. Fasting requires protein,” she says in a low voice, noting that preparing a meal now depends entirely on what is available that same day, as storage conditions are nearly nonexistent.

“As you can see, there is no electricity, no infrastructure, no refrigerators to store vegetables or meat if we buy them.”

“We purchase what we need day by day so the food does not spoil.”

Yet the other side of Ramadan for Hanan is measured not by preparation but by those absent from the table.

Tears fill her eyes as she mentions her two sons in their late twenties who were killed in a strike last year, one leaving behind a daughter not yet two years old.

“This is the first Ramadan after the martyrdom of my sons Abdullah and Mohammed,” she says through tears.

“You feel the emptiness. It’s hard. When the family gathers and members are missing, you feel deep pain.”

Cooking in the tent: Fire, wind, and plastic

Still, Hanan’s sorrow is briefly interrupted by the practicalities of preparing the cooking space.

“Unfortunately, Ramadan hasn’t changed our reality. We’ve been cooking over open fire for two years. The wind blows out the flame, and my son tries to shield it with plastic.”

She relies on firewood due to prolonged shortages of cooking gas.

“I managed to fill an eight-kilo gas cylinder two months ago and refused to use it until Ramadan,” she says, pulling out the hidden cylinder.

“Gas is like treasure for us. I planned to save it for suhoor or something quick. It would be difficult to light a fire at dawn.”

“In the end, everything passes. What matters is that we remain together in health and safety, and that we do not live through famine or war again,” she adds, her voice shifting to prayers for peace.

The memory of famine further deepens her anxiety.

She repeats the word “difficult” as she recalls the months when prices soared and food disappeared after last Ramadan.

She describes grinding lentils to replace flour and mixing them with pasta or rice to feed as many family members as possible.

To make the bread stretch, she cut it into smaller portions.

“I make it smaller, so it’s enough for everyone.”

And yet, her final wish, repeated like a prayer, echoes what many in Gaza seek this Ramadan: nothing more than “goodness and peace”, and a return home from displacement.

“May this Ramadan be one of goodness and peace for everyone… and may we return to our homes and our land.”

World Opinion + ALjazeera

L’article Gaza welcomes Ramadan amid fragile ‘ceasefire’ and fears of renewed war est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Le plan des Etats-Unis pour l’après-guerre à Gaza prévoit de déplacer toute la population du territoire palestinien. Celui-ci serait placé sous administration américaine pendant dix ans pour le transformer en un centre touristique et technologique, rapporte dimanche le Washington Post.

Le plan de 38 pages, consulté par le quotidien américain, envisage le déplacement “volontaire” des quelque deux millions d’habitants de Gaza vers d’autres pays ou dans des zones sécurisées à l’intérieur du territoire dévasté par près de deux ans de guerre, le temps de sa reconstruction.

Ceux qui accepteraient de partir recevraient 5000 dollars en cash ainsi qu’une aide couvrant quatre ans de loyer et un an de nourriture, selon ce plan. Les propriétaires terriens se verraient quant à eux offrir des “jetons numériques”, à utiliser pour financer une nouvelle vie ailleurs ou à échanger contre un appartement dans l’une des six à huit nouvelles “villes intelligentes et alimentées par l’IA” devant être construites à Gaza.

Des usines de voitures électriques, des centres de données ou des hôtels y seraient financés par des investissements publics et privés. Le territoire palestinien serait placé le temps de la reconstruction sous l’administration d’une entité baptisée Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust, ou GREAT Trust. Le plan prévoit que cet organisme gouverne pendant dix ans avant de laisser la place à une “entité palestinienne réformée et déradicalisée”.

“Riviera du Moyen-Orient”

Il a été élaboré selon le Washington Post par certains des Israéliens à l’origine de la Fondation humanitaire de Gaza (GHF), une organisation privée soutenue par Israël et les Etats-Unis, créée pour distribuer l’aide alimentaire et au centre de nombreuses critiques. Sollicité par l’AFP, le département d’Etat américain n’a pas répondu dans l’immédiat.

Donald Trump avait lancé en février l’idée d’une prise de contrôle de la bande de Gaza par les Etats-Unis pour en faire la “Riviera du Moyen-Orient”, une fois vidée de ses habitants qui pourraient selon lui être déplacés vers l’Egypte et la Jordanie. Salué par l’extrême droite israélienne, ce plan a été rejeté par les pays arabes et la plupart des pays occidentaux, l’ONU mettant de son côté en garde contre un “nettoyage ethnique” à Gaza.

La guerre à Gaza a été déclenchée par l’attaque du Hamas en Israël du 7 octobre 2023, qui a entraîné la mort de 1219 personnes côté israélien, en majorité des civils, selon un décompte de l’AFP basé sur des données officielles. La campagne de représailles d’Israël a fait au moins 63’459 morts à Gaza, en majorité des civils, selon le ministère de la Santé du Hamas, dont les chiffres sont jugés fiables par l’ONU.

“Gaza n’est pas à vendre”, répond un membre du Hamas

“Gaza n’est pas à vendre”, a déclaré Bassem Naïm, membre du bureau politique du Hamas, sur les réseaux sociaux, en affirmant que le territoire est “une partie intégrante de la grande patrie palestinienne”. Il a souligné le “refus du Hamas et de notre peuple” de ce plan.

“Le Hamas rejette tous ces plans qui déplacent notre peuple et maintiennent l’occupant sur nos terres”, a déclaré un autre responsable du Hamas sous couvert de l’anonymat.

World Opinions + Agences

L’article Analyse. Un plan américain prévoit de déplacer toute la population de Gaza pour reconstruire est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Public anger is growing against looters and exploitative merchants. Their actions are seen as betrayal.

On July 17, I was in a market in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza looking for any affordable food item to buy when I saw a crowd of people gather in front of some shops. The people were angry about the exorbitant prices that the shop owners were charging for goods that had clearly been looted from aid convoys.

Two weeks later, I was at the same market and witnessed another angry protest. People were chanting, “You thieves!” and cursing the merchants.

Having no fear of God, shop owners are exploiting the famine without mercy, selling aid as if it were rare luxury items when in fact it is supposed to be distributed for free. The greed and exploitation have gone too far, and the people are taking things into their own hands. Across Gaza, there are protests against price speculation. In some places, shops are being forcibly closed.

Indeed, the prices of essential goods have soared to unimaginable levels, beyond anything dictated by the forces of supply and demand. People cannot understand why goods cost so much despite their minimal purchasing power. The prices I saw while walking at the market were insane: a kilo (2.2lb) of flour – 40 shekels ($12), a kilo of rice – 60 shekels ($18), a kilo of lentils – 40 shekels ($12), a kilo of sugar – 250 shekels ($73), a litre (1 quart) of cooking oil – 200 shekels ($58).

Since Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza in March, the normal aid distribution through the United Nations – something that has to happen unabated in any warzone – has ceased.

To stave off global criticism, Israel set up humanitarian hubs to supposedly distribute aid. But they have been nothing more than death traps. Many of those who come to collect aid are shot at, and thousands have been killed or wounded.

In parallel, the Israeli government started allowing in a very small quantity of aid trucks, but a large portion of those are looted once they enter Gaza. The goods are then resold at outrageous prices.

Those who control this supply of looted food are powerful merchants and brokers, often protected by local influential actors or benefitting from indirect coordination with Israel. These actions are not spontaneous. They take place within a deliberately created atmosphere of chaos. With the collapse of state institutions and absence of legal accountability, exploitation has become the rule, not the exception.

It is clear to the Palestinians that the occupation doesn’t merely aim to show that Gaza is weak. It actively seeks to prove that it is ungovernable. To achieve this, closing the borders isn’t enough. The people of Gaza must be pushed into a state of constant chaos and friction.

Starvation is a key instrument here. Hunger doesn’t only kill. It also changes human nature. A starving person, stripped of the bare minimum needed to survive and subjected to daily humiliation, slowly loses the ability to think clearly, to judge or to restrain themselves from turning against those they perceive – rightly or wrongly – as contributing to their suffering.

There are black markets and war profiteers in every conflict. But in this one, the occupying power is encouraging these criminal activities, not because it is earning money from them, but because it serves its overall goal. The Palestinians who choose to participate in this form of extortion are motivated by greed, blackmail or survival.

This slow unravelling is exactly what the occupation has aimed for. It wants chaos in the streets of Gaza so Israeli and international media can be quick to point a finger at the Palestinians and declare: “Look, the Palestinian people are imploding. They can’t govern themselves. They don’t deserve a state.” But the truth is, this is not a sign of a failed nation. It is evidence of the occupation’s success in dragging it to the brink.

It is not the people who have lost control. Control has been forcibly stripped from them – through starvation, the systematic destruction of healthcare and sanitary infrastructure, the dismantling of state institutions and the empowerment of criminals.

Yet Gaza will not break. People may grow angry and desperate, cry out and protest, but they still retain a moral compass. This collective outcry is not infighting. It is a clear warning that society will no longer tolerate betrayal. Those who raise prices mercilessly in times of siege are traitors, and they will be held accountable before institutions of justice when Gaza rebuilds.

The occupation may be revelling now in the unfolding collapse, but it would be wrong to think it has defeated the Palestinians. Every crisis breeds new awareness. Every betrayal gives birth to new resistance. The vast majority of Palestinians refuse to become tools in the hands of their torturers. They refuse subjugation and erasure. They refuse to exploit and harm their fellow citizens.

Palestinian national solidarity is still alive.

By Amal Abu Seif Palestinian writer and researcher from Gaza – Aljazeera ENG

L’article Palestinians won’t tolerate war profiteering in Gaza est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip have recorded two more deaths “due to famine and malnutrition” in the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, bringing the total to at least 113.

Israel has recalled its ceasefire negotiating team for “consultations” after Hamas submitted a response to a proposed Gaza ceasefire deal to mediators.

The response reportedly includes amendments to conditions around the entry of aid, areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 59,587 people and wounded 143,498. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.

For aid to arrive into the hands of Palestinians in Gaza, it is not straightforward.

Since the war began in October 2023, some aid has been able to pass into the territory through a handful of militarised crossing points.

But even if lorries carrying supplies can get in, without the cooperation of Israeli authorities they can’t get much further.

Aid groups say there is no shortage in the supply of food, but accuse Israel of obstructing it and making it virtually impossible for humanitarian assistance to reach millions of people who desperately need it.

Instead, truckloads sit untouched in warehouses, external while not far away, aid groups say, Gazans face mass starvation.

Israel denies this, and blames UN agencies and “the collection bottleneck” as the main obstacle for supplies getting into Gaza.

Earlier this year, the Israeli military blockaded the entry of aid trucks into Gaza for 11 weeks, it said, to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages.

Not longer after that, Israel and the US backed a controversial organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to bypass the UN and act as the main distributor of aid in Gaza.

The GHF, unlike the UN, uses private security contractors to distribute supplies from sites in Israeli military zones. It’s a system Israel and the US say is necessary to stop Hamas from stealing aid.

But aid organisations have also roundly condemned the scheme, which the UN says has seen more than 1,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while trying to collect food.

And according to the World Health Organization, a large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving.

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L’article Israel has starved 113 Palestinians to death in Gaza.. How does aid get into Gaza – and why isn’t enough getting through?.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Un accord de cessez-le-feu a été conclu à Gaza, mais 15 mois de combats ont eu un impact dévastateur sur le territoire côtier palestinien.

La campagne de bombardements et l’invasion terrestre d’Israël sont une réponse à l’attaque transfrontalière sans précédent du Hamas le 7 octobre 2023, au cours de laquelle environ 1 200 personnes ont été tuées et 251 autres prises en otage.

Israël a déclaré qu’il tentait de détruire les capacités militaires et gouvernementales du groupe islamiste, déterminé à détruire Israël et qui contrôle Gaza depuis 2007, mais plus de 46 600 Palestiniens ont également été tués, selon le ministère de la Santé dirigé par le Hamas.

Les habitants de Gaza espèrent que le dernier cessez-le-feu apportera enfin la paix, mais les Nations Unies préviennent qu’il faudra des années, voire des décennies, pour que le territoire se rétablisse. Ce guide visuel montre comment la vie a radicalement changé pendant la guerre.

Comment la destruction s’est propagée

La campagne israélienne s’est d’abord concentrée sur le nord de Gaza, où, selon elle, des combattants du Hamas se cachaient parmi la population civile.

La ville de Beit Hanoun, située à seulement 2 km de la frontière, a été l’une des premières zones touchées par les frappes israéliennes. Elle a subi de lourds dégâts.

Israël a continué de bombarder la ville de Gaza et d’autres centres urbains dans le nord et a ordonné aux civils de se déplacer au sud de la rivière Wadi Gaza pour « sécurité et protection » avant de commencer son invasion terrestre à la fin du mois d’octobre.

Mais Israël a également lancé des frappes aériennes sur les villes du sud vers lesquelles des centaines de milliers de Gazaouis fuyaient depuis le nord. Fin novembre, certaines parties du sud du territoire étaient en ruines, tout comme une grande partie du nord.

Israël a intensifié ses bombardements sur le sud et le centre de Gaza début décembre, avant de lancer une offensive terrestre sur Khan Younis, et en janvier, plus de la moitié des bâtiments de Gaza avaient été endommagés ou détruits.

Quinze mois de conflit ont probablement endommagé près de 60 % des bâtiments de la bande de Gaza, la ville de Gaza ayant subi les destructions les plus lourdes, selon les experts du CUNY Graduate Center et de l’Université d’État de l’Oregon qui ont analysé les données satellite.

L’ONU estime que les bâtiments endommagés représentent plus de 90 % des logements de Gaza, avec 160 000 détruits et 276 000 autres gravement ou partiellement endommagés.

Tout au long de la guerre, le Hamas, considéré comme une organisation terroriste par Israël, le Royaume-Uni et de nombreux autres pays, et ses alliés ont mené des combats intenses contre les forces israéliennes sur le terrain. Ils ont également tiré des milliers de roquettes sur Israël.

Création d’une vaste ville de tentes

Avant la guerre, la vie était difficile à Gaza : pendant des années, la ville avait été soumise à un blocus israélo-égyptien qui limitait sévèrement qui et quoi pouvait entrer et sortir, ce que les deux pays disaient être nécessaire pour des raisons de sécurité.

Bien que près des deux tiers de la population vivent dans la pauvreté, selon la Banque mondiale, et que des milliers de personnes vivent dans des camps de réfugiés gérés par l’ONU, le pays dispose également d’hôpitaux, d’écoles et de magasins.

Mais Gaza, longue de seulement 41 km et large de 10 km, délimitée par la mer Méditerranée et des frontières fermées avec Israël et l’Egypte, est désormais en grande partie inhabitable.

Des quartiers entiers ont été rasés. Des terres agricoles où se trouvaient autrefois des serres ont été réduites en sable et en décombres par les véhicules lourds et les chars utilisés dans les opérations de déminage par les troupes israéliennes.

Avant la guerre, la plupart des 2,2 millions d’habitants de Gaza vivaient dans ses quatre principales villes – Rafah et Khan Younis au sud, Deir al-Balah au centre et la ville de Gaza, qui comptait 775 000 habitants – mais presque toute la population a maintenant été déplacée.

Des familles ont été déplacées à plusieurs reprises alors qu’Israël a modifié l’orientation de son opération, en demandant initialement aux habitants du nord de se déplacer au sud de la rivière Wadi Gaza, qui coupe la bande de Gaza en deux, puis en déclarant une série de zones d’évacuation dans le sud.

Les images satellite montrent une vaste prolifération de tentes érigées par des personnes déplacées à al-Mawasi, une mince bande de terre principalement agricole le long de la côte méditerranéenne, près de la frontière égyptienne, qu’Israël a désignée comme « zone humanitaire » en octobre 2023.

Israël a élargi la zone en mai, pour inclure des parties de Khan Younis et de Deir al-Balah, après avoir lancé son offensive terrestre à Rafah, où plus d’un million de personnes s’étaient réfugiées.

Mais sa taille a été réduite à plusieurs reprises depuis lors, car Israël a ciblé des zones où, selon lui, le Hamas opère et lance des attaques alors qu’il est intégré parmi les civils déplacés.

En août, l’ONU estimait que plus de 1,2 million de personnes s’étaient réfugiées à al-Mawasi, qui manque d’infrastructures essentielles et de services de base et dont la taille variait d’environ 7 km² (2,7 miles carrés) lors de sa première introduction à 72 km² (27,8 miles carrés).

La surpopulation est devenue une préoccupation majeure dans les abris d’urgence des Nations Unies dans le centre et le sud de Gaza, certains d’entre eux dépassant largement leur capacité. D’autres familles vivent dans des tentes ou des abris de fortune dans des complexes ou sur des terrains découverts ou sur des plages.

La lutte pour la nourriture

Selon le Cadre intégré de classification de la sécurité alimentaire (IPC), l’organisme mondial chargé de déclarer la famine, environ 1,8 million de personnes connaissent des niveaux élevés d’insécurité alimentaire aiguë, dont près de 133 000 personnes confrontées à une insécurité alimentaire catastrophique.

Son analyse portant sur la période de septembre 2024 à août 2025 a averti que les niveaux de malnutrition aiguë étaient dix fois plus élevés qu’avant le début de la guerre.

Même avant le conflit actuel, environ 80 % de la population de Gaza avait besoin d’aide humanitaire.

Les livraisons d’aide humanitaire ont été complètement interrompues pendant environ 10 jours lorsque Israël et l’Egypte ont fermé leurs points de passage après le 7 octobre et elles ont repris à des niveaux beaucoup plus faibles – environ 50 camions d’aide humanitaire entrent actuellement à Gaza chaque jour en janvier jusqu’à présent, selon l’ONU.

Israël conteste les chiffres de l’ONU, mais même ses données montrent que seulement 140 camions par jour sont entrés en janvier, externe jusqu’à présent, avec le nombre le plus élevé de 226 par jour en avril.

En mars, le Programme alimentaire mondial a déclaré que pour répondre aux besoins alimentaires de base, il faudrait au moins 300 camions par jour pour entrer dans Gaza et distribuer de la nourriture – un chiffre qui n’a pas été atteint depuis le début du conflit.

Les responsables de l’ONU ont imputé la situation aux restrictions imposées par l’armée israélienne sur les livraisons d’aide, aux hostilités en cours et à l’effondrement de l’ordre public.

Israël assure qu’il n’y a aucune limite à la quantité d’aide qui peut être acheminée vers et à travers Gaza et accuse les agences de l’ONU de ne pas distribuer les fournitures. Il accuse également le Hamas de voler l’aide, ce que le groupe nie.

La pauvreté explose

Le conflit a également eu un impact dévastateur sur l’économie de Gaza, qui, selon la Banque mondiale, s’est contractée de 86 % au premier trimestre 2024, soit la « plus forte contraction économique jamais enregistrée ».

L’étude note que près de 100 % de la population vit aujourd’hui dans la pauvreté, contre 64 % avant la guerre, et que le coût des produits de première nécessité a augmenté de près de 250 %.

La CNUCED, l’institution de l’ONU chargée du commerce et du développement, estime que le coût des dommages causés par la guerre est estimé à 18,5 milliards de dollars, soit environ sept fois le produit intérieur brut (PIB) de Gaza en 2022.

En octobre, l’organisation avait prévenu que, même une fois un cessez-le-feu conclu, il faudrait 350 ans pour reconstruire l’économie de Gaza à son niveau de 2022 – à moins qu’elle ne soit capable de croître plus rapidement que sous les restrictions économiques et de mouvement en vigueur depuis 2007.

De nombreux établissements de santé ne peuvent plus fonctionner en raison de dommages ou du manque de fournitures et de carburant.

De nombreux hôpitaux ont également été attaqués par les forces israéliennes, l’armée affirmant qu’ils étaient utilisés à des fins militaires par le Hamas. Le Hamas et les responsables des hôpitaux ont démenti cette affirmation.

L’hôpital Al-Shifa de Gaza-ville, autrefois le plus grand établissement médical de la bande de Gaza, est en ruine, même s’il a rouvert son service des urgences. L’armée israélienne affirme avoir tué ou capturé des centaines de “terroristes” et trouvé des armes et des renseignements “dans tout l’hôpital” au cours de ses deux principales opérations dans la ville.

L’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) des Nations Unies indique que seuls 18 des 36 hôpitaux de Gaza fonctionnent encore partiellement, et que 11 autres hôpitaux de campagne sont décrits comme fonctionnant pleinement ou partiellement.

Une longue convalescence

Outre le bilan humain, le Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement (PNUE) prévient qu’il faudra beaucoup de temps pour réparer les dégâts à Gaza.

Il décrit les systèmes d’eau et d’assainissement comme « presque entièrement défaillants », met en garde contre l’accumulation de déchets autour des camps et des abris et contre le risque que les produits chimiques provenant des panneaux solaires détruits et des munitions utilisées contaminent les sols et les réserves d’eau.

On estime que plus de 50 millions de tonnes de débris se sont accumulés à la suite de la destruction.

Selon le PNUE, il faudra peut-être 21 ans pour éliminer les débris et les restes des explosifs et des munitions de guerre.

« Les dommages environnementaux importants et croissants à Gaza risquent d’enfermer sa population dans une période de rétablissement longue et douloureuse », a déclaré la directrice exécutive Inger Andersen.

World Opinions + BBC News

L’article La bande de Gaza en cartes : comment 15 mois de guerre ont radicalement changé la vie dans le territoire est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank are marking a sombre Eid al-Adha as the Israeli military continues its deadly attacks more than eight months after the start of the war.

In the besieged enclave, where more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, people gathered in the rubble of their neighbourhoods to pray on Sunday.

The Israeli military says it will hold a daily “tactical pause of military activity” along a road in southern Gaza to enable more humanitarian aid to enter, but emphasised that there is no ceasefire and combat would continue in Rafah.

The pauses, which are said to have begun on Saturday, will last from 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) until 19:00 local time until further notice.

They will only affect a route that leads northwards from the key Kerem Shalom crossing, which Gaza shares with Israel.

Aid agency ActionAid told the BBC it was getting a “confused” picture over what the pauses mean.

This is while the Israeli military is aggressively attacking western areas of Rafah as it advances with its ground invasion of the southernmost city, and hitting areas across central Gaza.

“Those attacks have pushed people into further internal displacement; in the northern part of the Strip, people are not only struggling to deal with unpredictable falling bombs and attacks on their homes … but also the spread of dehydration and hunger,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

“This is happening on the first day of Eid, where we’re looking at hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian families, many of them in mourning.”

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, also reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Palestinians are trying to cling to a sense of hope.

“Palestinians are trying to do their best, despite Israel’s ongoing aggression, to bring happiness to young children, as many of them will wake up today and celebrate Eid without their parents.”

The Government Media Office in Gaza said in a statement late on Saturday that Israel is preventing the entry of sacrificial animals into the enclave from all crossings, preventing Palestinians from performing sacrificial rituals as part of Eid al-Adha.

The Israeli army on Sunday announced a “local, tactical pause” of military activity along a specific route from 8am until 7pm every day until further notice supposedly to allow more aid into Gaza from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.

It did, however, emphasise that its soldiers would continue to fight in the southern part of the enclave and that there would be “no cessation of hostilities”.

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L’article Palestinians ‘in mourning’ as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha.. Israel announces military pause on Gaza road to let in aid.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The Israeli military says its troops have taken “operational control” of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Rafah has been a key entry point for aid and the only exit for people able to flee since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October.

The United Nations and aid agencies have slammed the Israeli army for cutting off an essential aid route by seizing the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza, warning that already scarce supplies will be further depleted in the enclave that is on the brink of famine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel reopen two key land crossings to enable desperately needed aid supplies to reach Palestinians in Gaza.

“The closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be reopened immediately,” he said on Tuesday.

Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing earlier on Tuesday, as ceasefire talks with the Palestinian group Hamas remain precarious.

Hamas said late on Monday that it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Israel said the proposal fell short of Israeli requirements and that it would send a delegation to meet the mediators.

Guterres warned an assault on Rafah, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, would “be a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare”.

Amnesty International called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately halt its ground operations in Rafah and ensure unfettered access for humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Hamas said Israel’s incursion and seizure of the Rafah crossing was aimed at undermining attempts by regional mediators to secure a new ceasefire deal.

The Palestinian armed group said on Monday that it had accepted a proposal from Egypt and Qatar, the basis of which is a weeks-long pause in the fighting and the release of several dozen hostages still held in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Hamas’s announcement was “very far from Israel’s necessary requirements” and that it was a failed attempt to “disrupt the entry of our forces into Rafah” .

He said he had instructed the mid-level Israeli delegation sent to Cairo on Tuesday to “stand firm” on the conditions required for the return of the hostages and on “vital requirements for ensuring Israel’s security”..

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L’article UN, aid urgencies urge Israel to halt Rafah assault after crossing seized.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after the US did not veto the measure in a shift from its previous position.

In favour: 14
Against: 0
Abstention: 1

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages.https://t.co/nOBuQOkxnj pic.twitter.com/QkZ7J7wHgi

— United Nations (@UN) March 25, 2024

It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

It is the first time the council has called for a ceasefire since the war began in October after several failed attempts.

"The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate & unconditional release of all hostages.

This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable."

— @antonioguterreshttps://t.co/nOBuQOkxnj pic.twitter.com/68306FOR31

— United Nations (@UN) March 25, 2024

The move by the US signals growing divergence between it and its ally Israel over Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Many world leaders have welcomed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

While the United States abstained from the vote on Monday, the remaining 14 council members voted for the resolution.

I'm on my annual Ramadan solidarity mission, where I visit & fast with Muslim communities in distress.

Jordan’s spirit of solidarity is what brings me here today, to meet Palestine refugees being served by @UNRWA.

It’s a heart-warming visit in heart-breaking times. pic.twitter.com/IjxELFPrIF

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 25, 2024

The resolution, which the US said it did not agree with in its entirety, calls for an “immediate ceasefire” for the duration of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks. It calls for the ceasefire to lead to a “lasting” truce, for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and for respect for international law from each party when it comes to detainments.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

The UN official said the resolution “must be implemented”, adding that failure to do so would be “unforgivable”.

The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 25, 2024

Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The ministry said that adopting the resolution is a step in the right direction to end the five-month war, to allow the entry of aid, and to begin the return of those displaced.

The ministry also called on UNSC member states to fulfill their legal responsibilities to implement the resolution immediately. The ministry stressed the importance of achieving a permanent ceasefire that extends beyond Ramadan – along with securing the entry of aid, working to release prisoners, and preventing forced displacement.

In an unusually strong rebuke, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the US had “abandoned” its previous position which had directly linked a ceasefire to a hostage release.

“Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution,” it said.

The statement said this harmed efforts to release hostages by giving Hamas hope it could use international pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire without freeing the captives.

It also said Mr Netanyahu had decided to cancel meetings between an Israeli delegation and US officials in Washington that were scheduled for this week.

Israel’s defence minister said Israel would not stop the war in Gaza while hostages were still being held there.

The Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, welcomed the resolution but said it was overdue.

“It has taken six months, over 100,000 Palestinians killed and maimed, two million displaced, and famine, for this council to finally demand an immediate ceasefire,” Mr Mansour said.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group which governs Gaza and which triggered the war with an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, also welcomed the resolution. It said it was ready “to engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides”.

The group has made any hostage release conditional on the release by Israel of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

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L’article World reacts to UNSC resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The Palestine Red Crescent says Israel has imposed a curfew around Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, and that gunfire and The Israeli military says its ground forces have encircled Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip’s largest city.

The International Court of Justice says it will decide this Friday on South Africa’s requested provisional measures against Israel in genocide case.

UNRWA reports “mass casualties” as training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people in Khan Younis catches fire after being struck amid fierce fighting.

Israeli forces continue tank-and-drone strikes on Khan Younis city with at least 210 people killed over the past 24 hours.

At least 25,700 people have been killed and 63,740 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.

WHO laments killing of Palestinians in Israeli strike on UNRWA shelter

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has offered his condolences to those killed after Israeli tanks shelled a URWA facility sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza earlier today, lamenting the “horrendous” heavy bombardment of Khan Younis.

“The ongoing heavy bombardment, evacuation orders and killing of civilians in Khan Younis, Gaza is just horrendous,” Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.

“WHO team joined an UNRWA mission to help those who were injured in today’s blast at the training centre where civilians were sheltering. Our deep condolences to the families who lost loved ones.”

Troops have also reportedly advanced deeper into remaining parts of the city, where they believe Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with hostages.

Residents said tanks had shut the last road out of the city to the Mediterranean coast, effectively stopping them from fleeing southwards.

There was also intense fighting around the city’s two main hospitals.

It came as funerals took place for some of the 24 Israeli soldiers killed on Monday on the deadliest day for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza 12 weeks ago.

At least 195 Palestinians were also killed in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry says more than 25,400 people have been killed – mostly children and women – during the war between Hamas and Israel.

It was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,300 people were killed – most of them civilians – and about 250 others taken hostage.

Israeli ground forces expanded their operation into southern Gaza in early December, after largely taking control of Hamas strongholds in the north.

Within days they were said to have reached the “heart” of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of people who had fled northern areas were sheltering.

But the troops have since faced fierce resistance from Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. It is considered to be one of the two strongest in the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and other countries.

The Israeli operation has expanded and intensified in recent days, with dozens of people reported killed in air and artillery strikes on Monday alone as tanks pushed into the west and centre of the city.

On Tuesday, the IDF put out a statement saying that over the past day its troops had “carried out an extensive operation during which they encircled Khan Yunis and deepened the operation in the area”.

The troops had “engaged in close-quarters combat, directed [air] strikes, and used intelligence to co-ordinate fire, resulting in the elimination of dozens of terrorists”, it added.

The IDF also ordered residents of western Khan Younis to move immediately to the al-Mawasi area, on the Mediterranean coast, for their own safety.

However, some witnesses said tanks had blocked the road leading there, preventing them from joining the estimated million people currently sheltering to the south in Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

“I am trying to leave for Rafah but the tanks are now very near to the coast and are firing toward the west,” Shaban, an electrical engineer with four children, told Reuters news agency.

The World Health Organization meanwhile said it was deeply concerned by reports of attacks on hospitals in Khan Younis.

On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said a civilian had been killed by an Israeli drone at the entrance of Al-Amal Hospital, which it runs, and that others had been injured when shells struck its nearby headquarters.

“The situation remains extremely dangerous. Early this morning, there was direct artillery shelling of the Palestine Red Crescent’s headquarters on the fourth floor. Israeli drones did not stop firing at people at al-Amal Hospital,” spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh told the BBC from Ramallah.

“[There is] panic and fear among thousands of displaced people who are taking shelter inside our facilities.”

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, but it has previously accused Hamas fighters of embedding themselves among the civilian population and operating in and around medical facilities.

Ms Farsakh also said ambulances were “facing significant challenges to reach wounded people and transport them to hospitals”, adding that they were now being told to take critical cases to Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

And she warned that Al-Amal and the nearby Nasser Medical Complex – the largest of the 14 hospitals still partly working in Gaza – were “overwhelmed and overcrowded”.

Dr Haytham Ahmad, who works in Nasser’s emergency department, told the BBC that multiple amputations were being performed, and that in some cases, patients were not being given anaesthetic because of a shortage of supplies.

“These cases have severe crush injuries and there is just some skin and muscle still connected. We try to use limited anaesthetic in this situation,” he said.

A World Health Organization spokesman said Nasser was “now basically besieged” and that there was “no way in and out” for its 400 patients, as well as the medical staff treating them and displaced civilians.

Gaza’s health ministry alleged that Israeli forces had fired “heavily on the upper floors of the specialised surgery building and the emergency building” of the hospital.

One video filmed by a Palestinian journalist appeared to show gunfire hitting the hospital’s western corner, while in another clip smoke is seen rising from an area to the south.

The IDF told AFP news agency that it was “not aware of the event”.

Later, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “appalling” and that the entire population was “enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history”.

He also once again appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said it was “engaging in serious discussions with both sides” on a potential deal, and a Palestinian official told the BBC that a Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo on Tuesday morning to “discuss new proposals” with Egypt’s intelligence minister.

Israel has not denied that it has proposed a two-month truce, involving the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But there are reports that has already been rejected by Hamas, which demands a permanent ceasefire.

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Mediator Qatar says 13 Israelis, including dual nationals, 10 Thais and one Filipino released in Gaza.

Group of 39 Palestinian women and children transported from two Israeli jails to Ofer prison ahead of expected release.

After seven weeks of war, Palestinians in bombarded Gaza welcome first pause in fighting with mixed feelings.

Israeli army says northern Gaza is out of bounds, blocks displaced Palestinians from returning home.

More than 14,800 people killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at about 1,200.

A big crowd has gathered around the Red Cross vehicle at the Beitunia checkpoint in the West Bank, where 39 Palestinians freed from Israeli prison are set to be released.

We are hearing the release of the Palestinian prisoners has been delayed due to scuffles between some Palestinian men and Israeli forces.

The crowd around the car are chanting “where are the prisoners, where are the prisoners?”

Those Palestinian women and teenage boys were transferred earlier today from two jails in northern Israel to a military courts complex in the occupied West Bank.

Once the Palestinian side is satisfied that their release has taken place, the deal remains on track. Around the same time as today’s release of hostages in Gaza, it’s thought that Hamas was also due to hand the list of the next group of hostages it will release tomorrow.

Qatar has said it has an “operations room” in Doha co-ordinating messages and making sure the releases in Gaza take place in a “safe” environment. So as today’s hostages are transferred to hospitals to be reunited with their loved ones, the whole process starts again ahead of another set of releases expected tomorrow.

With many moving parts, lots can still go wrong.

This is all about the sides verifying what has been agreed, before honouring their next set of commitments under the deal. And at the same time, a very delicate temporary ceasefire needs to stay in place for four days, or potentially even longer.

Emergency service tells Israeli Army Radio captives in ‘good’ health

Eli Bin, the director general of Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom, has told Army Radio he had spoken to the Red Cross delegation overseeing the captive release.

He said he was told an initial assessment indicated the captives were in “good and reasonable” health.

The released Israeli captives were set to be brought to hospitals in Israel after being brought from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing.

World Opinions – Agencies

L’article ‘Where are the prisoners?’ chant crowd in West Bank waiting for Palestinians’ release.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.