As Israel's battle with Hezbollah intensifies, Gazans fear being forgotten – The Journal

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — As the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah captures worldwide attention, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are asking: What will become of their plight after nearly a year of devastating war?

They are terrified that international attention has been diverted and a grim possibility looms: neglect.

The families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip have the same concerns.

Nezar Zaqout, one of some 1.9 million Palestinians forced to flee their homes since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, expressed fears that fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border could overshadow interest in the miserable living conditions in Gaza and efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.

“We have been completely forgotten,” says Zaqout, who lives in Khan Younis after fleeing Gaza City months ago. “There is no news about us in the media.”

Palestinians fear that the miserable conditions in Gaza will become permanent. 90 percent of the population is homeless, hundreds of thousands live in unsanitary tent camps and struggle for food and clean water.

“One year later, no one cares about us. Every day there are bombings, every day there are martyrs and every day there are injured people,” says Saadi Abu Mustafa, who fled from Khan Younis to Muwasi, a sprawling tent camp on Gaza's southern coast.

Since Hamas began its war on October 7, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 95,000 injured in the Israeli retaliatory invasion of Gaza, according to the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry. The ministry makes no distinction between civilians and insurgents, but says that more than half of the dead were women and children.

Months of heavy air and ground attacks have razed entire apartment blocks to the ground. Researchers analyzing satellite images estimate that almost 60 percent of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have probably been damaged since the war began.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after October 7, when its militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 250 more. Although severely weakened, the Iran-backed militant group is still in power.

According to the Israeli government, 70 of the 100 hostages are believed to be alive. Their families fear that the government is increasingly less committed to its efforts to end the war.

“My biggest concern is that all the public attention and the world's attention could be focused on the north,” said Udi Goren, a relative of Tal Haimi, an Israeli killed on Oct. 7 and whose body was brought to Gaza. “Ultimately, the hostages will just be left completely alone, with no one to take them out.”

As the threat of open war between Israel and Hezbollah grows, Israel has reduced its troop presence in Gaza and moved key units to the northern border with Lebanon. Yet thousands of soldiers remain in Gaza, conducting sporadic raids and preventing displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes.

Daily attacks also continued in Gaza. An Israeli attack on a school in northern Gaza that was being used as an emergency shelter killed at least 22 people and injured 30 others on Saturday, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Recent rains have made already difficult living conditions in Israel's designated “safe zone” of Muwasi unbearable. On Sunday, children living there walked barefoot through mud that reached above their ankles while men dug in the mud to salvage valuable canned goods and furniture.

“The whole kitchen where we prepare food was filled with water. We didn't know what to do. This is the beginning of winter. What will happen in the next few days?” said Rana Goza't, a mother displaced from Gaza City.

Others complained about soaked mattresses and asked international organizations to help draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We hope that all people care about us and see where we have arrived,” said Enas Kollab, who moved to Muwasi from northern Gaza.

The hectic diplomatic activity to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to have died down, with each side accusing the other of negotiating in bad faith and making untenable demands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that Israel station troops in two Gaza areas to prevent Hamas from rearming. But Hamas has said it will not agree to any agreement that allows Israeli troops to remain.

Hopes for a deal have sunk further as the United States, a key mediator in the talks, appears to be losing the ability to influence its closest ally. In a trip to the region last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited only Egypt because U.S. officials feared his trip to Israel to support a deal could prompt Netanyahu to say something that would undermine mediation efforts.

There is no clear vision for post-war Gaza – or who will lead and manage that process – but one thing is clear: rebuilding the area will take decades. The UN estimated this summer that just clearing some 40 million tons of rubble would take 15 years.

FILE – Palestinians seek shelter from Israeli bombardment at a school in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

FILE – Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike on a crowded tent camp housing war-displaced Palestinians in Muwasi, Gaza Strip, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

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