- Families in Gaza return to their devastated homes a week after ceasefire stopped the 50-day war with Israel
- Attacks damaged or destroyed thousands of Gaza homes with an estimated 250,000 people taking refuge in schools
- Hamas and other Gaza militants fired 4,591 rockets and mortars at Israeli cities during the fighting, mostly in the south. The Israeli military, meanwhile, carried out more than 5,000 airstrikes and other attacks
- Palestinian militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation Of Palestine take part in a rally a week after cease-fire
As a
bombed-out neighbourhood lies in a mass of broken stone and twisted
metal in the background, a young boy sits amid the rubble of what was
once his home in Gaza.
These
images reveal the startling reality of life in the area following the
50-day war with Israel as the region begins to recover from the
fighting.
A
week after a cease-fire halted the war, families in Gaza have been
returning to their homes shelled by Israel during Operation Protective
Edge.
Israel
and Hamas agreed to an open-ended truce last Tuesday. The ceasefire
brought an immediate end to the fighting but left key issues unresolved,
such as Hamas' demand for the lifting of an Israel-Egyptian blockade of
Gaza and the reopening of Gaza's air and seaports.
A boy sits amid the rubble of his
destroyed house on Monday in the Gaza Strip.
Local residents visited their house that was shelled by Israel during
Operation Protective Edge, in the Shejaia neighbourhood, east of Gaza
City
These images reveal the startling
reality of life in Gaza after the 50-day war with Israel as the region
begins to recover from the fighting
Palestinians gather around a fire amid
the rubble of their destroyed house in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas
agreed to an open-ended truce last Tuesday
Israel
wants Hamas to disarm and the return of bodies of two Israeli soldiers
killed in the war. A new round of indirect talks is expected to begin
later this month in Egypt.
The
war killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, three-quarters of whom were
civilians and at least 494 children, according to Palestinian and U.N.
estimates. Israel disputes the figures and estimates that at least half
of those killed were militants, though it has not provided firm evidence
to back its claims. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and six civilians,
including a Thai worker, were killed.
Hamas
and other Gaza militants fired 4,591 rockets and mortars at Israeli
cities during the fighting, mostly in the south. The Israeli military,
meanwhile, carried out more than 5,000 airstrikes and other attacks.
The
Israeli attacks damaged or destroyed thousands of homes in Gaza, and an
estimated 250,000 people took refuge in more than 100 U.N. schools
turned into makeshift shelters. With tens of thousands of people still
in the shelters and fighting still raging, education officials delayed
the start of the school year last week.
Ziad
Thabet, a Gaza Education Ministry official, said classes in the strip
are set to begin on September 14. The U.N. said most of the displaced
were to be evacuated to temporary housing by yesterday afternoon, but
Thabet said the schools need to undergo repairs before they can be used.
At
least 223 Gaza schools, either run by the U.N. refugee agency or the
Hamas government, were hit in the fighting, including 25 that are too
damaged for use. Israel has accused Hamas of using civilian buildings
such as schools for military purposes.
The ceasefire brought an immediate end
to the fighting but left key issues unresolved, such as Hamas' demand
for the lifting of an Israel-Egyptian blockade of Gaza and the reopening
of Gaza's air and seaports
Hamas and other Gaza militants fired
4,591 rockets and mortars at Israeli cities during the fighting, mostly
in the south. The Israeli military, meanwhile, carried out more than
5,000 airstrikes and other attacks
Meanwhile,
Palestinian militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation Of
Palestine took part in a rally on Monday, a week after the beginning of
the Egypt-mediated ceasefire.
An
opinion poll released today found the popularity of the Hamas militant
group had spiked significantly among Palestinians in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip following the war.
The
poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey
Research and headed by leading Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki,
indicated that 61 per cent of Palestinians would choose the Islamic
militant group's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, for president if Palestinian
presidential elections were held today.
Only 32 per cent would vote for current President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas' rival, the survey suggested.
A masked
Palestinian militant of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP), holds up his rifle on Monday in Gaza City during a
rally held a week after the Egypt-mediated ceasefire between Israel and
Hamas
An opinion poll released today found
the popularity of the Hamas militant group had spiked significantly
among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip following the
war. Pictured is a masked Palestinian militant of the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The
support for Haniyeh marks a stark increase from a poll in June,
conducted by the same pollster, which found only 41 per cent of
Palestinians backed the Hamas figure. At the time, Abbas had 53 percent
support.
The poll also suggests a majority of Palestinians - 72 per cent - support adopting Hamas' armed approach in the West Bank.
The
research center said it is the first time in eight years that a
majority of Palestinians has voiced such support for the Hamas leader.
But, it said, Hamas' popularity might fall in coming months, as it did
following previous Israel-Hamas conflicts.
Polling
started on the last day of the war, on August 26, and continued during
the first four days of the ceasefire, the research center said.
The
poll said 79 per cent of respondents believe Hamas won the war, and 86
per cent support the renewal of rocket fire on Israel if a blockade on
Gaza is not lifted, one of Hamas' main demands.
Palestinian militants from the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (PFLP) take part in a military
show in Gaza City on Tuesday
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid
criticized Israel's expropriation of West Bank land announced this week,
calling for 'a more reasoned approach' in Israeli diplomacy following
Israel's military operation in Gaza. Pictured are Palestinian militants
from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (PFLP)
But 25 per cent said armed groups in the Gaza Strip should give up their weapons after the blockade ends and elections are held.
Also
today, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid criticized Israel's
expropriation of West Bank land announced this week, calling for 'a more
reasoned approach' in Israeli diplomacy following Israel's military
operation in Gaza.
The
expropriation of about 1,000 acres of West Bank land could help clear
the way for new Jewish settlement construction. Lapid said such moves
create 'redundant arguments with the United States and the world' and
criticized the timing of the announcement following the Gaza war.
Israel's Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni, also criticized the move this
week.
Other
leading Israeli Cabinet ministers have criticized Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct in the recently concluded war, with many
saying he did not go far enough to neutralize Hamas's fighting ability.
Palestinian Sheikh Hazem Al-Bakri
(left) from the Islamic Society walks through a dairy factory after it
was demolished by Israeli authorities in the Israeli occupied West Bank
city of Hebron on Tuesday. Israeli authorities destroyed the dairy
factory because of the reported link to Hamas through the Islamic
Society
Men walk through the Islamic Society
dairy factory after it was demolished by Israeli authorities in the
Israeli occupied West Bank city of Hebron
Israeli authorities and military demolish an Islamic Society dairy factory in the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Hebron
Netanyahu
has spoken vaguely about a new 'diplomatic horizon' that has emerged
following the 50-day Israel-Hamas war. He has given few details on what
he means.
But
Netanyahu has said that he is not willing to renew peace talks with
Abbas, saying the Palestinian leader will have to first distance himself
from Hamas militants. Hamas and Abbas' Palestinian Authority recently
agreed to a unity deal that saw the formation of a government backed by
both factions.
'He has to choose,' Netanyahu told Israeli Channel Two in a weekend interview. 'It's either yes to Hamas or no to Hamas.'
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