Gaza mourns its dead as the specter of an endless cycle of conflict looms
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Gaza CityCNN
—
It’s over. The bombs and rockets no longer fall; on Friday night families in Gaza City ventured out to stroll around the main square, or sit on the benches.
But it’s not over. The Israeli drones buzz incessantly overhead. And the events of the past 11 days are only now beginning to sink in. The raw emotions of fear and terror, of loss and anger, will linger on.
In Al-Wahdah street, Israeli air strikes caused three buildings to collapse in the middle of the night last Sunday – killing more than 40 people. Five days later, an endless stream of residents walk by and gawk at the mounds of jagged concrete and twisted metal. Atop one of those mounds lies a bright red teddy bear, its head separated from its body.
Sixty-seven-year-old Mahmoud Abu Al-Aouf lives a few blocks away, but one of the buildings was home to members of his extended family, most of them now dead.
He ticks off the relatives who died. “My cousin, my sister, her son, his children, my niece and her children,” he says. Among the dead was Dr. Ayman Abu Al-Aouf, head of internal medicine at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital. He was responsible for the hospital’s Covid-19 ward.
A stuffed toy found among the ruins on Al-Wahdah street.
“He had just returned from work,” recalls Mahmoud. “And then he was killed.”
Another member of the family, Ala Abu Al-Aouf, was in his nearby shop when the Israeli bombs struck.
“I ran out and saw dust and rubble and heard screams and shouts,” he says.
Eventually rescue workers pulled the bodies of his two daughters, 21-year-old Shaima and 19-year-old Ruwan, out of the ruins.
Ala, 48 years old, says the Israeli military gave no warning. “Our souls to them [the Israelis] are cheaper than a phone call. They could have called and said ‘Evacuate the building!’ You want to hit tunnels? Hit them!” he says. “But you have to warn us. We’re civilians. We have nothing to do with that.”
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Hatem Moussa/AP
Palestinians inspect a destroyed building that housed media offices in Gaza City on Friday, May 21. It was hit by an Israeli airstrike earlier in the week.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
An Israeli soldier sits on top of a tank at a staging ground near the border with Gaza on May 21. It was after a ceasefire agreement was announced.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian family returns to their Gaza City home on May 21.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians in Gaza City celebrate the ceasefire agreement on May 21.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
A young man looks out of a bedroom window where an unexploded Israeli missile landed in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Thursday, May 20.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Heidi Levine/AP
Lia Tal rushes with her children and partner to take shelter as a siren warns of incoming rockets in Ashdod, Israel, on May 20.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, right, listens to his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, center, during a visit to a building that was hit by a rocket in Petah Tikva, Israel.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Heidi Levine/AP
Israelis take shelter in the stairwell of their apartment building in Ashdod, Israel, as a siren sounds to warn of incoming rockets from Gaza on Wednesday, May 19.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Sebastian Scheiner/AP
Israelis rally in front of the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, calling for the release of Israeli soldiers and civilians being held by Hamas in Gaza on May 19.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
The relatives of Palestinian Mahmoud Shtawi, 19, react during his funeral in Gaza City on May 19. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Majdi Mohammed/AP
A Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces at the Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on Tuesday, May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Khaled Omar/Xinhua/Getty Images
Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a warehouse in Rafah, Gaza, after it was hit by Israeli airstrike on May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the Israeli security forces patrol the flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in east Jerusalem, during Palestinian protests on May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Explosions are seen over buildings in Gaza City as Israeli forces strike targets early on May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Amir Levy/Getty Images
A woman in Ashdod, Israel, carries her dog and runs for shelter after sirens warned of rockets fired from Gaza. It was near the site where a previous rocket hit.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmoud Illean/AP
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Obaida Jawabreh, who was killed amid clashes with Israeli forces, during his funeral in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Arrub on May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
An Israeli artillery unit fires toward Gaza on May 18.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian firefighters douse a fire at the Foamco mattress factory after an Israeli airstrike east of Jabalia, Gaza, on Monday, May 17.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
A woman reacts inside her kitchen on May 17 after a rocket from Gaza hit her apartment building in Ashdod, Israel.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Heidi Levine/AP
Israeli soldiers take cover near the Gaza border as a siren warns them about incoming rockets on May 17.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Anas Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Children salvage toys from their home at Gaza City's Al-Jawhara Tower, which was heavily damaged in Israeli airstrikes.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Khalil Hamra/AP
Palestinian rescuers pull a survivor from the rubble of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday, May 16.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
This photo shows the scene of an alleged car ramming in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah on May 16. Six were injured; the driver was shot and killed.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Anas Baba/AFP/Getty Images
In the background, the Israeli Iron Dome aerial-defense system intercepts rockets fired by Hamas militants toward southern Israel on May 16.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmug Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A ball of fire erupts from the Jala'a Tower, which houses the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media offices, as it is destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday, May 15.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Relatives mourn over the bodies of the Abu Khatab family, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, at the Shifa Hospital morgue in Gaza City on May 15.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A nurse holds an injured baby at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on May 15. The baby was pulled alive from a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, which killed 10 members of the child's family.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Oren Ziv/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the Israeli emergency services work at a site in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, after a rocket fired from Gaza struck the area.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Oded Balilty/AP
A siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets as people take cover at a shelter in Ramat Gan, Israel, on May 15.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Rachel El-Gazar walks inside her damaged house in Sderot, Israel, following rocket fire from Gaza on May 15.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
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A Palestinian protester launches flares amid clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron, West Bank, on May 14.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian woman reacts amid the damage caused by Israeli airstrikes in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on May 14.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Israeli soldiers prepare an artillery unit in Sderot, Israel, near the border with Gaza on May 14.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance/dpa/Getty Images
A man in Ashkelon, Israel, views a damaged car and building that was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians take shelter in a UN school in Gaza City on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Oded Balilty/AP
Julianna Sror views the damage to her apartment on May 13 after it was hit by a rocket in Petah Tikva, Israel.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Khalil Hamra/AP
A Palestinian walks next to a building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer toward Gaza from their position near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian man outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
A man checks damage following a rocket attack in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Muslims perform the morning Eid al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on May 13.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP/Getty Images
A passenger rolls his luggage at the nearly deserted Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Israel, on May 13. Global airlines were canceling flights to Israel as clashes intensified between the country's military and Palestinian militants.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
Mourners surround the body of Lea Yom Tov, an Israeli woman killed by a rocket attack from Gaza, during her funeral in Rishon LeZion, Israel, on May 12.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Torah scrolls, Jewish holy scriptures, are removed from a synagogue that was burned during confrontations between demonstrators and police in Lod, Israel, on May 12.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
An aerial view on May 12 shows the remains of a Gaza City tower building that was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Avshalom Sassoni/AP
An Israeli firefighter extinguishes a burning bus in Holon, Israel, after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mussa Qawasma/Reuters
A stun grenade fired by Israeli forces explodes as Palestinians take part in an anti-Israel protest in Hebron, West Bank, on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Amir Cohen/Reuters
A streak of light is seen from Ashkelon, Israel, as Israel's Iron Dome system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the destroyed Hanadi tower after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
A damaged house is pictured in a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon, Israel, on May 11, after rockets were fired from Gaza.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian children inspect a damaged bedroom following an Israeli airstrike at Gaza City's al-Shati Refugee Camp on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ariel Schalit/AP
Israeli firefighters take cover in Ashkelon as a siren warns of incoming rockets on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Khalil Hamra/AP
Palestinians search for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed rooftop after a residential building was hit by Israeli airstrikes at the Shate refugee camp in Gaza City on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
The mother of Palestinian Hussain Hamad, 11, is comforted by mourners during his funeral in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on May 11. The boy was killed during fire between Israel and Gaza.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
An Israeli soldier checks a damaged apartment building in Ashkelon on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Flames and smoke rise from buildings in southern Gaza during Israeli airstrikes on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli rescue teams help residents of an Ashkelon neighborhood on May 11.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmoud Illean/AP
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on May 10.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
Israelis take part in the annual Jerusalem Day march on May 10, marking the reunification of Jerusalem after Israel captured the eastern part of the city from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmoud Illean/AP
Palestinians are seen at the Aqsa Mosque compound during confrontations with Israeli police on May 10.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Israeli police detain a Palestinian during clashes at the Aqsa Mosque on May 10.
Photos: Israelis and Palestinians endure days of violence
Mahmoud Illean/AP
A Palestinian man runs from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on May 10.
Israel says it was targeting tunnels in the neighborhood. When one of them collapsed, so did nearby buildings. The Israeli military said earlier this week that an investigation was underway into the ordnance used.
Clutching her baby son Kareem, a teacher who declined to give her name, came to survey what was once Ala’s home.
Her home down the street shook as if an earthquake had struck, she remembers. “I grabbed my children and held them tight,” she says. “I thought that’s it. I’m going to die. It felt like Judgement Day had come.”
One of her students was among those killed in the airstrike that night.
Next to the ruins on Al-Wahdah street, members of Hamas’ military wing, clad in black combat fatigues and balaclavas, march past.
Despite the death, despite the destruction, Hamas is framing the war as a victory.
Gaza residents survey damage following days of Israeli airstrikes.
Mick Krever/CNN
People reclaim materials from a building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on May 22.
John Minchillo/AP
On the evening of May 10, it launched its first barrage of missiles at Israel, demanding Israel’s security forces leave the Haram Al-Sharif, the Temple Mount, home of Islam’s third-holiest site, the Al Aqsa Mosque. It dubbed its campaign “the Sword of Jerusalem,” posing as the defender of Jerusalem’s holiest Muslim site against Israel, which for its part called its air and artillery campaign the “Guardian of the Walls,” referring to the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.
Not since the outbreak of the Second Intifada two decades ago has the symbolism of Jerusalem been in such sharp focus.
This fourth war between the state of Israel and Hamas has ended inconclusively. Both sides are claiming victory. As they always do. Israel claims to have crippled Hamas’ ability to launch rocket attacks.
Hamas claims that for 11 days it paralysed large parts of Israel with those rockets. It shut down Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport and opened up yawning cracks in the already brittle communal relations within Israel between its Jewish and Arab citizens, some of whom identify strongly as Palestinian, as well as sparking a wave of mass protests and confrontations in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
The Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah, led by 85-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, seemed like a helpless bystander, launching empty rhetoric at Israel while Hamas launched rockets.
The ceasefire in Gaza is just that: a cessation of fire. It’s not a guarantee of lasting calm, or anything approaching the semblance of peace.
The root causes of this century-old conflict for the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea haven’t gone away.
Going back more than a decade, the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem, where Palestinian families face eviction, has been a regular flashpoint.
In Jerusalem, Palestinian residents, nearly 40% of the population, pay taxes and carry Israeli identification cards, but the vast majority are not Israeli citizens. Among other things, they can’t vote in national elections and receive just a fraction of municipal funds compared to Jewish residents.
The fourth Gaza-Israel conflict is over. The definition of insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Four times now, Israel and the factions in Gaza have engaged in these deadly exchanges. And given that all else remains the same, a fifth round, and a sixth and maybe more, cannot be ruled out. In fact, most people in Gaza expect another war. And as in 2014, and this time, each side will almost certainly declare victory. It fits the definition of insanity all too perfectly.