A Palestinian nurse in Belfast has said people will never fully heal from the destruction in Gaza, but is hopeful the work to rebuild their lives can now begin.
Mohammed Samaana has lived in Belfast for 24 years and said he was thankful for the support shown on the streets with regular protests and fundraising efforts.
With the tentative steps towards a ceasefire continuing over the weekend, he said it was hard to trust the Israeli government due to the ongoing loss of Palestinian life.
“We’re all relieved to have the ceasefire, but since it was announced on Wednesday, Palestinians have still been killed in Gaza and the West Bank,” he said.
“For me, the pattern with Israel is that they always break ceasefires. This is only just the first phase of the deal, we don’t know what will come.”
He said that around 90% of housing in Gaza has been destroyed, with reports of 200,000 tents being brought in to provide shelter.
“People will be allowed to go back, but there’s no homes for them. Their streets aren’t even recognisable.
“Everything has been erased, no lives and no jobs.”
In the long term, Mr Samaana said he hoped peace would come from justice.
“I believe this means bringing those responsible for the genocide to justice,” he said.
“The International Court issued an arrest warrant for the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
He also said countries that provided military and political support to Israel should now be the first to contribute to the rebuilding of Gaza.
“It’s just been so heartbreaking to wake up every morning to the news, see these images,” he said.
“Children having death certificates issued before birth certificates. It’s all terrifying, seeing hospitals destroyed and starvation.
“We’re glad to see an end to this. Even if the fighting stops as well, people will continue to die because there’s no hospitals for them to go to.
“People in cancer care and all those sorts of things. But we hope now there will be at least a start of letting aid into Gaza and people to go back to their homes, and possibly bringing Palestinian children elsewhere to receive medical treatment.”
On the painful legacy of the fighting that Palestinians will now carry with them, he said: “It’s very difficult to process. You have children left without any relative, their families have been wiped out.
“Maybe the child will be injured, and there’s no benefit support system there – you’re just left on your own.
“You can heal the physical wounds, but in terms of the psychological trauma - this might never heal.
“What people have witnessed – the bombing, the blood, the fear and the agony. Even the memories people had of where they grew up, that’s all gone.
“The main thing is to prevent this happening again.”
On the support from many in Belfast, he said: “To see the moral support gives people a sense that they’re not isolated, that they’re not on their own.
“That there are people who care about them and their suffering.
“That’s one of the greatest things about humanity. People in Belfast and elsewhere out showing their support, they’re not paid to do it.
“They leave their families and homes, they come out in the cold and the rain to say ‘enough is enough.’”
