On Saturday, Hamas is to release four more Israeli female soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, families return to their hometowns only to find that they have been left in a sea of rubble. According to the UN, there are up to 50 million tons of rubble in Gaza.
Full of hope, they return to where their homes once stood. Only to find piles of rubble there. – I was shocked when I saw it. There is no house here anymore. This is betrayal. Nothing has survived here. You can't walk the streets. Houses were collapsing on top of each other. We can get lost because we cannot recognize anything. You can feel the bodies of martyrs lying in the streets, says Nidal Badr, a mother of ten children.
According to the UN, there are 50 million tons of rubble in Gaza. That is, as much as was left of Warsaw after World War II. It could take 20 years to clean up.
The Badrow family complains not only about the lack of a roof over their heads. Help is arriving, but it is still not enough. – They are talking about a truce, a ceasefire and the provision of aid. We've been here for three days. We can't find water. We don't have bedding for our children. We rely on this fire all night long. I would like to have at least wood so as not to burn plastic – confesses Mohhamed Badr.
Despite the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Gazans cannot feel safe. The exchange of fire took place after one of the trucks carrying aid broke down in Rafah. According to The Telegraph, unidentified bandits fought with Hamas for the transported goods.
Trucks carrying aid have to contend with mud on damaged roads and residents trying to get what they can from them.
The Israeli government has approved a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. What's in it?Jacek Tacik/Fakty TVN
Concerns about maintaining the truce
Despite the lack of anything and the omnipresent ruins, Palestinians cannot imagine life anywhere else. – While in Gaza, I heard a very simple message: these people do not want to rely on aid. They want to rebuild their lives, they want to return to the places they come from, even if it means putting up a tent on the rubble, notes Muhannad Hadi, UN humanitarian coordinator.
READ ALSO: The first hostages are released from the Gaza Strip. “I feel like my sisters have come home”
This shows how attached the people of Gaza are to this place. However, this causes great anxiety, because although the ceasefire negotiated after 15 months of war allowed them to return to the remains of their homes, they do not know whether they will be able to maintain it.
– In the case of such a truce, trust is needed, and this does not exist. The negotiations were conducted with zero trust. Hamas and Israel will be staring at each other, expecting someone to break the truce and wondering whether it makes sense to maintain it. A kind of critical mass is needed. Society must want a truce. In the case of Israel, I think that's what most people want. The Palestinians are also happy that the bombings have stopped, but they don't know what to expect, says Professor Yossi Mekelberg, senior analyst at Chatham House.
Soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag are scheduled to return to Israel on Saturday. For their freedom, Israel will release 200 Palestinian prisoners from prisons, including killers serving sentences of more than 15 years.
Facts about the World TVN24 BiS
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/MOHAMMED SABER