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As ceasefire talks continue, Palestinians are angry at the international community, which they feel has let them down.
gaza city – After six months of war in the Gaza Strip, anger is rising over the international response that has allowed it to continue as Palestinians grapple with the threat of Israeli bombs, starvation and the psychological wounds of both.
Hope remains, no matter how small, that there will be a ceasefire, but anger is stronger.
Aliya Kassab, 22, says she firmly believes the international community will continue to fail the people of Gaza, as it has for six months.
The United States, Germany, and many of the West's self-proclaimed champions of human rights have maintained their support for Israel despite mounting evidence that it has committed war crimes on a large scale.
Since October, the US has vetoed three resolutions in the UN Security Council, including one calling for a ceasefire, before abstaining and allowing one last month. Germany continues to supply arms to Israel while the United Kingdom, France, and others do the same.
hope and despair together
Any news coming from Cairo, where negotiators are mediating between Hamas and Israel, could instill hope in a population yearning for a moment of comfort and relative security.
Ahmed Abu Shahla, a retired secondary school mathematics teacher, wants a break from fighting.
“We are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted to the point that we have forgotten what life was like before,” says the 64-year-old resident of Gaza City.
Bashir al-Faran has stopped caring. He lost his wife and three children in the early days of the war, and the armistice would not bring him back to his previous life. “It doesn't matter anymore,” he says, adding that the ceasefire will only mean more years of living with the sorrow of the destruction in Gaza.
The 34-year-old banker, who is now living in a tent, says he will still be grateful for the opportunity to mourn in peace.
“I think politicians and governments around the world, including the United Nations, are trying to hide their involvement in atrocities,” says al-Faran.
“Even the US, the UK, … the so-called champions of human rights, are responsible for the bloodshed because they did not stop this conflict.”
All types of weapons including starvation
Despite ongoing talks in Cairo, Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues as well as aid blockades, putting Gaza's most vulnerable people at even greater risk.
“Months ago, medical institutions warned that Gaza would suffer catastrophic consequences if the blockade continued and the war continued,” says Abed Abu Kenzi, a physician at al-Shifa hospital.
“But unfortunately, all we got from the international community was lip service,” he added.
Twenty-seven people, 23 of them children, have died of hunger and malnutrition is now well known to many families in Gaza.
Food, fuel and medical supplies are impossible to find or access.
“Children are dying of severe malnutrition,” Kenzie says.
“Additionally, respiratory problems and kidney failure due to infection are widespread among young adults. …We have passed the damage control phase. “Now we are counting the casualties…as well as the serious collapse of the medical system.”
Discussions of betrayal and how the West watched as people died are everywhere.
“I don't know what makes the outside world see us as humans,” said Soad Safi, 19. “Humans whose dreams deserve a chance to come true. If after five months of suffering and death it is not time to end this madness, I wonder when it will?”
“I am overwhelmed by the loss, but I will get through this, even better than before. …I always did,” Safi says, adding that she plans to continue her education after the war.
“They can hurt us. They can cause harm. But they cannot destroy us.”