Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip woke up Thursday to the sound of renewed bombings, adding to the concern they felt following news of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas the night before .
They hope the announcement will mean an end to Israel’s 15-month war, which has killed more than 46,700 Palestinians and left thousands missing. But their memories of the war won’t disappear anytime soon.
In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, many people are displaced from other areas of the enclave after fleeing their homes following Israeli attacks or Israeli orders to leave or face bombing.
They struggled to survive. Many have lost their loved ones and feel lucky to be alive. But what happens next is still unknown. And with the devastation so evident across Gaza and Israel seemingly unwilling to leave the territory alone, many pitfalls await us in the future.
Al Jazeera spoke to residents of Deir el-Balah the day after the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday, as they await its implementation on Sunday. Here’s what they had to say:
More traumas are yet to come
Nahed al-Wer is a psychiatrist displaced with his family from the Bureij refugee camp at the start of the war, after his home was destroyed. He now works at the clinic in Deir el-Balah and also volunteers in his free time to meet people seeking psychological help for the trauma they suffered during the war.
It’s very nice. We are so happy. Looks like it’s Eid. We hope that this feeling will last forever and that we will not see any more bloodshed. We hope we don’t see this again and don’t have to go through this experience again. We have all lost people. I lost my brother, my nephew, my other nephew and another relative.
I fear that we will see a further escalation in the coming days. This is the nature of Israeli politicians. Before signing a ceasefire or before a ceasefire comes into effect, they continually try to intensify the massacres. The pace of killings is intensifying. In 2014, on the last day of the war, I lost my sister and her children.
There is still great concern that Israeli leaders could renege on their agreements, and the pace of killings has accelerated over the last two or three days, so I pray to God that this does not happen. not.
After the war, a large number of people will suffer from very difficult psychological conditions – because of the tensions, phobias and fears they experienced. It is possible that these conditions and psychological fatigue will worsen and progress beyond depression.
There must be treatment for these people. Just a few days ago, I had the case of an elderly woman whose son died. She suffered from serious mental health problems and began psychiatric sessions to improve her situation.
“We have lost many dear and precious people”
Yasmeen al-Helo is a mother of one from Shujayea, a suburb of Gaza City. She was moved to Deir el-Balah a year ago.
Honestly, my feelings are indescribable. It was a great joy, I cried and I was happy at the same time. I cried over the things that happened to us. It hasn’t been easy and there is a lot of sadness. People’s hearts are hurt. The experience was heavy and very difficult.
We lost people. Some are missing, others have been taken away by the [Israeli] occupation and some were martyred. In general, I am happy that the bloodshed and violence is stopping, but at the same time I am sad because we have lost many dear and precious people. But it happened, and all you can do is pray to God.
God willing, the ceasefire will not collapse and will continue this time. Honestly, I would have preferred an immediate ceasefire because these two difficult days were worse than the whole past year. They want to intensify the bombings and the madness they are committing.
Hope for treatment abroad
Mohammed al-Mudawwi was receiving physical therapy for a spinal injury that left his legs paralyzed at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis when he said he was taken away by Israeli forces and accused of being involved in the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023. southern Israel, which he denies. He explains that he was kept in detention in January 2024 for about a month, during which he was beaten.
The treatment was very bad. Due to medical negligence, I developed ulcers. I wasn’t allowed to move. When they laid me on my right or left side, they wouldn’t turn me and I developed ulcers because of that. My hands turned blue from the constant pressure of the handcuffs.
My health deteriorated due to lack of nutrition. They didn’t feed us. We were blindfolded. We had no idea what they were making us drink. They even cut off my feet to see if I could feel them or not. When I started bleeding, no care was taken to bandage it. I hope that since I am disabled, I can now be referred for treatment abroad.
I am now optimistic and hopeful thanks to the ceasefire. Yesterday was the first time I laughed since the war started. This moment is wonderful, especially for my children. May God have mercy on the souls of the martyrs.
“We can never forget”
Saleh Aljafarawi is a 27-year-old journalist who was displaced from northern Gaza during the war. He has become well known in Gaza for his videos covering the war and claims to have received numerous threats from Israel for his work.
It was a bad experience, one of the worst I’ve had in my life. All the scenes and situations that I went through during these 467 days will not be erased from my memory. All the situations we have faced, we will never be able to forget them.
But today’s feelings of joy over the end of this war make us forget – even slightly – what we experienced. May God ensure our security and safety in the Gaza Strip. Once the war is over, we will return to the northern Gaza Strip, even if our homes are destroyed and nothing remains of them. God willing, we will rebuild them.
We have paid a high price in this war. We lost our colleagues, we lost our families, we lost our friends. We have been deprived of the simplest things imaginable. We were deprived of being with our families for 467 days.
Honestly, I lived in fear every second, especially after hearing what the Israeli occupation said about me. I lived my life second by second, without knowing what the next second would bring me.
There are still two days left [until the ceasefire]and I hope God will make it easier for us.
