Dust to dust

Israel’s savage assault on Gaza in December and January was merely the latest battle in a three-year war against the territory that thought it had waved goodbye to Israel’s colonial presence in 2005. Economic boycotts, border closures, assassinations and frequent instances of random shelling and sniper fire had already brought the 1.5 million inhabitants to their knees, and after Hamas refused to renew a ceasefire with Gaza’s jailers, Israel’s politicians understood this was an opportunity to permanently weaken the group they helped to create, terrorise their supporters and exorcise the ghosts of Lebanon. With Israeli elections on the horizon, dead Palestinian children were once again Ehud Barack’s campaign poster.

The Resident
Interviewed three days after the ceasefire, January 20th

“Practically every single building in our neighbourhood on the outskirts of Gaza City had been damaged or destroyed by this war. And the ceasefire doesn’t mean they have stopped. The Israeli navy shelled two Palestinian boats this morning, killing two fishermen just because they rode in their boats to try and get some food to the devastated city. The navy also fired at the beach to prevent people from trying to escape the destruction of the city for a few hours.
“Every morning, Israeli war jets continue to fly at very low-altitudes, scaring people as they try to go about their business and clean up after the bombardment. And the sonic booms and noise are also causing serious damage to the older buildings in the Strip. People immediately start running for their homes – those that still have a standing home, of course.

“It’s the third day after the ceasefire and, thank God, the electricity is back, and it is available for six hours a day now. Officials here are promising there will be more of it soon. Police members are back to the streets and they are helping the UNRWA, Red Crescent and the Islamic Relief in delivering food and emergency aid to people – but rescue teams, ambulances and many residents are still unable to access some neighbourhoods in the city. They are still considered ‘danger zones’ because the Israelis might still strike them.

“I used to support Hamas before the war, but that changed during the Israeli offensive. I can’t support them any more since despite the destruction, they kept firing rockets at Israel, giving them easy excuses for the offensive to continue. I think most people in Gaza City share this same opinion.
“We did not see any Hamas fighters during Israel’s airstrikes and bombings. They hid themselves well. All the casualties in the Gaza City were civilians.”

The Red Crescent official
Interviewed two days before the ceasefire, January 15th

“The situation is abominable. It’s chaos. There’s death and destruction, blood and gore... These airstrikes rain down on us every night and for much of the day, they are too many to even count. Israel’s planes and tanks are targeting everything here, including residential buildings, UN compounds, schools, stores, farms, gas stations... any facility that could make it possible for Gazans to live in the territory.

“Israel can only inflict civilian deaths with these tactics: the police stations and the command centres of the Hamas-led government are all built within heavily residential areas – and whole areas have been destroyed. You target a building and everything around it – other buildings, important facilities surrounding it – are also hit. Some places simply don’t exist anymore, places such as Johr al-Deek, al-Mughrafa, al-Atatera, Sheikh Ajilin, Jabal al-Kashef, Quzaa and some other neighbourhoods in Jabalia town and Beit Hanoun. These places are all gone.

“Other than the injured, we are seeing a large number of refugees created every single day, moving towards any area in the middle of the Strip where it’s less dangerous. It’s reminiscent of 1948 and 1967. The people are not only frightened, they’re incredibly angry. The people feel that they have been abandoned by their leaders, who have fled the territory and left them alone to face the Israeli incursion.
“There is, of course, an advantage to this destruction: Everyone living here is completely equal now. None of us have cars, homes, jobs, money, food... We are all equal now.”

The reporter
Al-Jazeera English’s Ayman Mohyeldin was interviewed in Gaza City on January 21st, five days after the ceasefire

“The situation in Gaza City is much better now, but after 22 days of continuous bombardment, the humanitarian conditions remain extremely difficult. Aside from the pain and suffering you see in hospitals, whether the injured or those who have lost family members and friends, the whole population is shocked and traumatised by the sheer volume of the devastation. You have those who lost their homes, their land and their whole livelihood. I can’t imagine how they will be able to start rebuilding their lives.

“In 22 days, every inch and every district of the Gaza Strip was under heavy bombardment, and everywhere was a target. While official statements claimed that the bombing targeted strategic sites, it was obvious that it was simply haphazard firing that spared nothing – and nowhere could be considered immune. Take the UNRWA school in Jabalia, where shelling killed 40 Palestinians seeking refuge. According to an official UN statement, the Israeli army has admitted there was no Palestinian gunfire emanating from inside the building.

“People must also remember that it’s not just the 22 days of war for the people of Gaza; they had also been devastated by the siege. The humanitarian situation is so terrible – and the number of emotional situations and experiences we faced as a crew so large – that it is impossible to single any out as worse or more harrowing than the others. To try would be an injustice to all that has occurred in Gaza.

“As one of two al-Jazeera English journalists, it was hard to cover all the events, and we were under as much risk as any Gaza resident. But with the ban on foreign journalists, there was a big responsibility on us to bring out the facts.
“Among the people there is a sense of anger and frustration along with the emotional devastation. Although they find some ‘relief’ in passing their emotional stories to members of the press, they are wondering why isn’t the world doing anything. They are very frustrated with the stance of the international community and believe that more should have been done.”

For more testimonies from people who survived the zionist assault, See NOX 32