Sami Abu Omar, his wife and children had resumed a “normal life” in Bani Suheila, at the eastern entrance to Khan Yunis. “As normal as it can be here in Gaza under attack,” he immediately specifies. “My house was destroyed by the Israelis like most of those in Gaza, but after living for months between Rafah and the Mawasi area, we went back and set up the tent next to the rubble (of the house). Then yesterday (Monday) came the sudden order (from Israel) to evacuate the entire eastern area of Khan Yunis and go towards Mawasi.” In a few hours, the army first dropped leaflets, then the population received phone calls made by automatic answering machines and finally text messages. “It was panic,” continues Abu Omar, a humanitarian worker and deputy director of the Vik Center for Cultural Exchange Gaza-Italy. “Those who hadn’t fled immediately were forced to do so in the middle of the night. Tens and tens of thousands of people have set out, with few belongings. There is no more room in Mawasi, it is an area crowded beyond imagination, for hours I have been looking for a spot where we can set up our tent. Every time they start to rebuild part of our lives on the rubble of our homes, the occupation sends the tanks back to destroy what remains»
Sami Abu Omar’s story, which almost all Palestinians in Gaza could share, is a concrete example of what awaits the Strip in the coming months, perhaps in the coming years. Following rocket launches – like those fired by Khan Yunis and Jihad two days ago – or on the basis of intelligence information, Israeli armored units will enter the Strip from the demarcation lines to the East or will use the Netzarim Corridor that cuts Gaza in two, to carry out “targeted” actions at every point of the Palestinian territory. Israeli think tanks, writes the Times of Israelare working to develop “solutions” for over two million Palestinian inhabitants. One would like a large part of the population of Gaza crowded into “islands of territory cleared of Hamas” where it would be possible to start a rapid reconstruction as long as the Islamic movement is kept at a distance. The National Authority of Abu Mazen could manage them, whose involvement in the future of Gaza has been ruled out by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for nine months and which now, according to local media, he would look upon with less hostility.
Netanyahu yesterday took to the stage to condemn the nine current or former Israeli military officers who made it clear, speaking to the New York Timesto be in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza, even leaving Hamas in power, and of a negotiation to bring home the Israeli hostages. “I don’t know who these unnamed sources are but – he replied – I am here to make it unequivocally clear: it will not happen. We will end the war only after we have achieved all the objectives, including the elimination of Hamas and the release of all our hostages… We do not succumb to defeatist spirits, nor to New York Times nor to others”. Between Netanyahu and the leaders of the Armed Forces, differences are now emerging every day. More pragmatic and aware of the impossibility of “eliminating” Hamas from Gaza, military commanders are also looking to the northern border with Lebanon. Tensions are high as rumors of an imminent Israeli offensive in the country of the cedars are growing. Hospitals in the north are on alert and have been ordered to prepare to receive a large number of wounded. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi knows that in the north the armed forces are required to make a greater effort than that seen in Gaza due to the war capabilities of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, which are greater than those of Hamas.
In Gaza, however, Hamas and other organizations are proving to be stronger and more organized than Israelis expected. Palestinian fighters no longer face Israeli soldiers in the open field, but rather hide among the rubble and in the skeletons of buildings that are still standing and carry out lethal attacks against enemy forces. Hamas has also managed in recent weeks to recruit hundreds of men and to partially replace those killed or wounded. They are not as well trained as those of the Qassam Brigades or the Nukhba units but they appear motivated, Palestinian sources say. In the last few hours, two more soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza and several others have been wounded in Shujayeh.
Yesterday, Israeli forces bombed several areas of the Strip, killing 11 people. They then approached the European Hospital in Gaza, ordering its evacuation. “We have been working tirelessly for 269 days in this hospital to help the wounded and sick, and we have done so despite the loss of relatives and friends. Now we are forced to stop because of Israeli threats, but we intend to return to work immediately and we will succeed,” Dr. Mustafa Al-Astal, of the anesthesia department of the European Hospital, told us yesterday. “The hospital staff and patients have decided to evacuate, only three patients remain,” explained Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, calling for the European Hospital in Gaza to be spared and not largely destroyed as happened to Shifa and Nasser hospitals. Further north, towards Gaza City, 17 people were killed by Israeli tank fire in a market in Zeitun.
As with the release of Mohammed Abu Salmiya – the director of the Shifa hospital arrested in November by Israel and freed two days ago by the Shin Bet (internal secret service) -, the decision taken by the Armed Forces to restore Israeli electricity supplies to Gaza has generated controversy and an exchange of accusations. A limited connection that will however allow the operation of the desalination plant managed by the UN in Khan Younis and which will produce 20 thousand cubic meters of water per day. It is not enough but it increases the possibility of quenching the thirst of a greater number of people.
