Improving lives of Gazans is top priority

Last week Hamas bested Israel in a brief skirmish over its refusal to meet commitments in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Hamas announced the release of three Israelis captured on October 7th, 2023, would be suspended unless and until Israel implements its obligations under the deal.

While halting aerial bombardments and incursions by ground troops, Israel broke the ceasefire by shooting to death 22 and wounding 59 Palestinians. Israel delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza. Israel was obliged to allow 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily, but between January 19th when the deal came into force and February 7th, only 8,500 of the 12,000 trucks had arrived. Israel denied the entry to machinery to clear rubble and to 200,000 tents and 60,000 mobile homes needed to shelter families during rain and cold. These items remain just across the border in Egypt awaiting delivery. Medical supplies have been held up and injured and ailing Palestinians have not been allowed to leave Gaza for lifesaving treatment outside the devastated strip. Only 15 truckloads of fuel rather than 50 have reached Gaza daily, depriving surviving hospitals of power.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s commitment has been questioned by Hamas. He has told right-wing coalition partners that he will pull out of the ceasefire deal when the first phase ends and return to war. The second phase calls for total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all living hostages while the third phase involves the return to Israel of deceased hostages and begins Gaza’s reconstruction. Hostages are not Netanyahu’s priority, victory over Hamas is.

Ignoring Hamas’ concerns, Israel and the US charged the movement of blowing up the deal. However, spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said, “We are eager to implement it and oblige the occupation to fully implement it.” Clearly encouraged by the arrival of 801 trucks loaded with supplies on Wednesday, Hamas announced three hostages would be freed on Saturday in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On schedule on Friday, Hamas named the three male Israelis to be released. This took place at 10.15 on Saturday morning. Subsequently, Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners, 333 from Gaza. This was the sixth swap. Hamas still holds 70 of the 251 captives who are to be exchanged with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The most prominent prisoner released was Ahmed Barghouti, who was held for 22 years for organising attacks during the Second Intifada (2000-2005). He was the key aide of Marwan Barghouti, the seniormost Palestinian prisoner in Israel who is seen as a potential president.

Intervention by mediators Egypt and Qatar came at a critical moment. Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that it had received assurances Israel would abide by the deal. Egypt and Qatar “would follow up...to remove obstacles and close gaps.” While the recalcitrant Israeli government is under pressure from hostage families and the public to get the hostages home, Hamas loses credibility with Gazans if the movement cannot improve their conditions of life by insisting Israel deliver on its commitments.

Donald Trump’s call for Gazans to be expelled from the strip to Egypt and Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that a Palestinian state could be established in Saudi Arabia have created consternation and confusion in this region and elsewhere. All Arab states have rejected the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. Egypt has proposed a plan for the formation of a Palestinian national committee to govern Gaza without Hamas participation, international involvement in reconstruction without exiling Palestinians, and movement towards a two-state solution. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian representatives will meet in Riyadh on February 27th to review and finalise the plan.

While Israeli bombardments, shelling, drone attacks and shootings have largely halted, the ceasefire has provided limited temporary relief for many of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians of 2.3 million who dwell in the strip. Following a visit to Gaza, UN Under-Secretary General Jorge Moreira da Silva reported on February 14th, “The humanitarian catastrophe continues, even if the ceasefire has offered much needed respite.”

In an impact snapshot, the UN reported Gazan deaths at 48,210 and wounded at 111,665. Ninety-one per cent of Gazans faces high levels of acute food insecurity while pregnant women and children suffer from malnutrition. One million children need mental health and psychological support.

Of 436,000 homes, 92 per cent are destroyed or severely or partially damaged; 1,875,000 Gazans are in need of shelter and essential household goods while 945,000 require “winterisation” to protect from inclement weather. Eighteen out of 36 hospitals are partially functional while there are fully and partially functional clinics and field hospitals that offer basic treatment.

Some 658,000 students have no access to education, 88 per cent of school buildings need extensive repair or reconstruction while 51 university buildings have been destroyed and 57 damaged. Seventy per cent of water infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, causing widespread dehydration and illness due to the lack of water for washing and cleansing.

This snapshot does not reveal conditions Gazans face daily and nightly. Eight of my closest friends were killed in Gaza City on October 15th, 2023. Other friends managed to leave, either because they had second passports and funds to sustain them, or relatives who raised money to get them out and offered them hospitality. The multitude left behind faces death, injury, disease and want daily.

After a post-ceasefire visit to Gaza the head of Oxfam’s humanitarian response, Clemence Lagouardat, described the journey north by Gazans evicted by Israel from their hometowns and refuge camps. “I am seeing thousands of people moving out of their tents and shelters, many on donkey carts. After 15 terrible months, people are finally able to search in the rubble for lost family members to bury and mourn as they begin the almost impossible task of rebuilding their lives and recovering Gaza.”

Their difficult lives have been further imperilled by Donald Trump’s closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It had funded humanitarian agencies, including the World Food Programme, with over $600 million in economic support for Palestinians from 2021. It is notable that the UAE topped the list of countries providing the greatest amount of aid, $828 million, for the people of Gaza through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.