It’s sunny and blue skies. The brutal war seems for a few moments distant.
After Hamas and Israel agreed to a four-day ceasefire, children in Gaza flocked to playgrounds along the coast in the south.
– I’m so glad we had a truce and that we went to the beach. I hope that the ceasefire will continue, and that we will continue to be as happy as we are now, Farah Helles tells NRK journalists in Gaza.
The scrubs and dumpsters are full of excited kids. Three little boys digging on the beach. Someone is taking a long-awaited bath.
Three boys playing on the beach in the southern Gaza Strip.
Enjoy relaxing and playing on the beach in Gaza this weekend.
Photography: Gabriel Kamil/NRK
A little further south, on the border with Egypt, several trucks carrying emergency aid enter the small, Meosa-sized Gaza Strip. More emergency aid is part of the agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Scared of war
Zeina Fayyad says she is tired of war and that she cannot sleep because of the bombs.
– I hope the ceasefire will continue, as we are tired of war every day. She says that the sound of bombs is very annoying and frightening.
Farah Helles says that she felt afraid of the bombing and was unable to sleep.
Photography: Gabriel Kamil/NRK
A little boy has finally taken a bath.
– God willing, the truce will continue. It’s been a long time since I went to the beach, so we came here now and swam. We are having a lot of fun because there is a ceasefire, says little boy Muhammad Al-Shanbari to NRK.
Firdous Tanboura says she is also happy about the ceasefire, but they live in humiliating conditions. Wash kitchen utensils at the water’s edge.
-We waited for a ceasefire for a long time, and we came here to shower. It’s been 48 days since the last time. “It is a real humiliation that we are experiencing now, and I cry for the people here,” Tanboura says.
Ferdous Tanboura says they are living in inappropriate conditions and have not bathed for 50 days.
Photography: Gabriel Kamil/NRK
There is a serious shortage of drinking water and fresh water in Gaza, after Israel cut off large parts of the water supply on October 7.
Many of them were released today
The ceasefire went into effect on Friday, after nearly seven weeks of continuous bombing of Gaza. These attacks are Israel’s response to October 7, when Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, attacked Israel. Hamas has killed about 1,200 people and taken more than 200 Israelis, many of them children, hostage in Gaza.
Monday is the last day of the ceasefire, according to the agreement between Hamas and Israel.
It can be extended if both parties agree.
More than 14,000 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the past seven weeks. Among them are more than 6,000 children, according to figures from the Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza.
But now the bombing has stopped for three days. 26 Israeli hostages, all women and children, were released.
The hostages are being transferred from Gaza by the International Red Cross.
Photography: Ibrahim Abu Mustafa – Reuters
The same applies to 78 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, most of whom are women and children.
According to plans, many Israelis and Palestinians will be released today, as part of the agreement.
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