00:00We can now go across to Gaza and speak to Deir al-Bala resident Baha Zaccout.
00:05Baha, thank you for joining us on the program today.
00:09Negotiators are meeting in Cairo right now.
00:13What are you hearing in terms of what you're hearing, what you're seeing in terms of this war?
00:20Has Israel paused its operation in Gaza?
00:26Thank you so much, Rilano, for having me again in this show.
00:29So we were all feeling a little bit happy once Trump announced the 20 steps plan.
00:39And we felt even more happy after Hamas approved the plan.
00:44And Trump himself tweeted that asking Israel to stop its military operations.
00:51For a moment, all of Gazans felt a little bit relief.
00:55Relief felt that after two years, this madness will stop.
01:02But unfortunately, the same day, the same day at night, Israel continued its military operations,
01:09especially in Gaza City and parts of the middle governorate.
01:15But it's not as intense as it was before this announcement.
01:18But still, the military operations aren't going.
01:22Since Trump published this tweet, over 120 Palestinians were killed.
01:29This seems like a very small number compared to the casualties before the announcement of Trump.
01:37So what are you, in terms of the military operation continuing, is that airstrikes?
01:43Is it a ground operation?
01:47No, it's mainly airstrikes.
01:48Airstrikes.
01:49Airstrikes.
01:49Mainly airstrikes, as well as there were several deaths reported from people or aid seekers seeking to obtain aid from GHF sites.
02:01Now, Baha, you know that residents who were in Gaza City were told to move.
02:07I know you yourself have your parents who moved from Gaza City to Deir al-Bala.
02:13And a lot of them went to the south of Gaza.
02:17What is the situation you're hearing in southern Gaza?
02:20Unfortunately, there is no word to describe the situation in south Gaza.
02:29In north Gaza, there are still few people left there with nothing, with no aids entering there.
02:36But the real crisis actually is in south Gaza.
02:39Because almost 90% of the population are crowded in the middle area and Khanunis.
02:47And people are left with no place to go to.
02:51Many families are still on the streets.
02:54There is no services, especially related to availability of water, whether domestic or drinking water.
03:02The crowdness is everywhere.
03:05People are left with no shelter.
03:08And unfortunately, the winter is coming.
03:11And especially the nights in Gaza are very cold and people are left with no shelter during the night.
03:19And what about food, Baha?
03:21What are you doing for food?
03:23Where are you getting your food from?
03:25How expensive is it?
03:28The food, to be honest, there is an improvement in the number of trucks that are entering Gaza.
03:34There are some new items that we can find in the local market.
03:40But still, the prices are extremely expensive for most Gazans.
03:45Still, there are several problems related to the diversity of the items and the nutrition value of the items available in the local market.
03:58The prices are still high, but we are expecting with the announcement of the ceasefire and the negotiations that are taking place currently in Egypt, that the prices will go down.
04:10And along with the entering of additional trucks from the different borders in Gaza.
04:17What have you noticed besides a little bit of the improvement of the food coming in, the increase, rather, since Hamas said it would accept the ceasefire proposal?
04:32What have you noticed yourself as a resident in India, al-Bala?
04:38To be honest, I felt a little bit safe.
04:41Every one of us felt a little bit safe, hopeful for the future.
04:47So, we are ready to rebuild, ready to continue with our lives.
04:54And even at the personal level, for the first time, I got the courage to register my oldest child in school.
05:04He missed one and a half year, but still, I feel a little bit safer.
05:09So, I took the decision to enrolling him in kindergarten.
05:14So, everyone in Gaza is feeling a little bit safe, but still cautious.
05:21And we all pray that these talks will eventually yield a complete agreement between Israel and Hamas and for this nightmare to finally end.
05:32So, I remember you have two children, a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter, right?
05:38Am I correct?
05:38Three years.
05:39Yes.
05:40So, the fact that you went and even thought of enrolling them in school whenever that starts, hopefully very, very soon.
05:48I just want to know about the psychological toll that all this, you know, the start, stop, ceasefire, the hope, that it's taken on citizens of Gaza two years.
06:02Not only have you endured the war, but the war, you have seen multiple ceasefires and then hopes of deals, those hopes being dashed.
06:11How difficult has it been for you to live through?
06:16To be honest, Delano, when we hear the word PTSD, we consider that all that we have been through is something that isn't compared to any PTSD.
06:29Gazans, we only live here in this piece of land.
06:36We are surviving.
06:38We are not living, to be honest.
06:40And there is nothing to look forward to.
06:42There is no future for all of us and for our children.
06:48We need the psychological level and the psychological scars that all of Gazan people have endured over the past years.
07:00And as long as I remember all of my childhood and the teenage period and after I grew up, I can only remember the wars, the conflicts, the violence.
07:15So I think that it's very difficult to specify the psychological effects that these wars have left or scarred the people of Gaza.
07:28And we require huge interventions related to psychological rehabilitation for all of the people in Gaza.
07:36I remember one of the first conversations we had, Baha, you told me we are more than mouths to feed.
07:43You told me that we have ambitions, we have dreams.
07:46I know you have ambitions.
07:47I know you have dreams.
07:48It's just hearing you talk and the fact that you're even enrolling your child in school.
07:53You're still hopeful for the future, aren't you?
07:58Even though, as you said, there's so much to rebuild physically of Gaza, politically things will need to change from here on.
08:07You're still hopeful for the future, right?
08:11I'm going to be completely honest with you, Delano.
08:13All the reports from international NGOs and UN agencies said that it takes at least 10 to 15 years to start the reconstruction process in Gaza.
08:25And for me, for example, if I want to build a future for my children, I'm going to have to wait at least 15 years to start working and enriching my children and investing in them.
08:39So I don't think that it's going to be an easy job, but Gazans are known for their resilience, known for their ability to rebuild, known for their ability to dream and to think bigger.
08:52Gaza before October 7 was known in the Middle East as one of the heavily educated people throughout the Arab world.
09:02So we do have dreams.
09:04We do have ambitions.
09:04Before October 7, we used to have so many ideas, business ideas, innovative ideas.
09:11Even as part of the organization that I'm working on, we used to have a specific program for innovation and creativity for youth and women.
09:21So it's nothing bizarre about having innovative and creative ideas in Gaza.
09:29But we like the environment that can host all of these innovations and creativity.
09:37So as soon as the reconstruction process starts and we start to feel a little bit safe, I assure you that the people of Gaza will be able to rebuild, will be able to innovate again,
09:49will be able to even outstand the reports from the UN and INGOs that says that Gaza needs at least 10 to 15 years.
09:58We will be able to rebuild Gaza a lot in a much lesser amount of time.
10:06I hope so, because now the world's relationship with Gaza and Palestine as a whole with the recognition hopefully will change.
10:16And I hope that a ceasefire deal is reached and the war comes to an end and your family, you yourself can rebuild and your children can go to school
10:27and do all the things that children, a three- and a five-year-old are supposed to do.
10:33So, Baha, thank you so much for taking the time and speaking to us.
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