AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It has been six months since President Trump pressed Israel to end its war in Gaza and since Hamas released Israeli hostages. But for the 2 million people living in Gaza, the ceasefire has not brought a new beginning. There is far less aid entering Gaza since a new war began six weeks ago in Iran, and there is still no international peacekeeping force in Gaza or any reconstruction. NPR's Anas Baba spoke with four Palestinians about their lives today, and NPR's Aya Batrawy brings us his reporting.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: It's a ceasefire in name only, say Palestinians. Nearly everyone is living in makeshift tents or bombed-out buildings, squeezed into just under half the territory on a sliver of land along the Mediterranean coast. Israeli troops occupy the rest.
YOUSEF MIGDAD: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: That's Yousef Migdad, a 35-year-old father of four, who tells NPR, "I live in the street in a tent." Like most people in Gaza, his home was destroyed in Israeli bombardment. And although now there's more food in Gaza than in its darkest months of famine before the ceasefire, Israel and the U.S. say there will be no reconstruction in areas of Gaza where Palestinians now live until Hamas disarms. Migdad says he's living in a makeshift tent that hasn't protected his kids from scorching summer heat or freezing winter storms.
MIGDAD: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: As for food, he says...
MIGDAD: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: The family's surviving on scoops of rice and lentils from soup kitchens. Israel says hundreds of trucks of aid are entering daily and humanitarian needs are being met. U.N. agencies say they continue to face restrictions and impediments, and mediators say what's entering Gaza is a fraction of what was agreed upon in the ceasefire.
MIGDAD: (Non-English language spoken)
BATRAWY: Migdad said people in Gaza are like the walking dead.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: That's how Mukarram Miqbal, a 26-year-old woman in Gaza, feels too. She recounts the moment she lost her dad, brother and husband in an Israeli airstrike early in the war after Hamas' deadly attack on Israel.
MUKARRAM MIQBAL: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: And then came the night last year she put her son Ahmed, 3, to sleep and cooked instant noodles for her older son Nabil, 5. At 10 p.m. the house was hit. She remembers vividly how she prayed.
MIQBAL: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: That attack killed her boys and left her alone, wounded and disfigured. She's among the more than 10,000 people in Gaza the World Health Organization says need medical evacuation. From a bed in a damaged building in Gaza City, Miqbal tells NPR what she really prays for is death.
MIQBAL: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: Death, she says, so she doesn't have to live this injustice. "This is not life," she says.
MIQBAL: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: There's little hope among people in Gaza. More than 700 Palestinians, around 40% women and children, have been killed during the ceasefire, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israel says it's targeted militants or people who have posed a threat to its troops.
NAIM EL-SAWERKY: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: That's Naim el-Sawerky, a father of three who lives in a tent. He points to the sound of an Israeli drone buzzing overhead.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE HOVERING)
EL-SAWERKY: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: He says he walks in the street and doesn't feel safe. That neither his life nor that of his family is guaranteed, even in a ceasefire. Mohammed Abu Khadra, a 22-year-old university student, recently resumed his studies online, but he says he doesn't know what for. He says, we used to have dreams and goals, but now we don't see a future.
MOHAMMED ABU KHADRA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: Abu Khadra says what he really needs is clarity on what comes next for Gaza. Aya Batrawy, NPR News, Dubai, with Anas Baba in Gaza City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
