Palestinians Struggle To Restart Their Lives In The Ruins Of Gaza
HuffPost
Palestinians who returned to their homes in northern Gaza after the ceasefire began on Jan. 19 are still struggling to find shelter, food, water and other necessities.
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — When night falls over northern Gaza, much of the cityscape of collapsed buildings and piled wreckage turns pitch black. Living inside the ruins of their home, Rawia Tambora’s young sons get afraid of the dark, so she turns on a flashlight and her phone’s light to comfort them, for as long as the batteries last.
Displaced for most of the 16-month-long war, Tambora is back in her house. But it is still a frustrating shell of a life, she says: There is no running water, electricity, heat or services, and no tools to clear the rubble around them.
Nearly 600,000 Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza under the now month-old ceasefire in Gaza, according to the United Nations. After initial relief and joy at being back at their homes — even if damaged or destroyed — they now face the reality of living in the wreckage for the foreseeable future.
“Some people wish the war had never ended, feeling it would have been better to be killed,” Tambora said. “I don’t know what we’ll do long-term. My brain stopped planning for the future.”
The six-week ceasefire is due to end Saturday, and it’s uncertain what will happen next. There are efforts to extend the calm as the next phase is negotiated. If fighting erupts again, those who returned to the north could find themselves once again in the middle of it.
