STORY: Gazans deprived of Eid joy with houses destroyed in airstrikes
DATELINE: June 28, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:23
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the house of Najah Nabhan
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (ARABIC): NAJAH NABHAN, Gazan resident
3. various of the house of Najah Nabhan
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (ARABIC): MOHAMMED NABHAN, Najah's son
5. various of the house of Abu Obeid family
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (ARABIC): MOHAMMED ABU OBEID, Gazan resident
7. various of the house of Abu Obeid family

STORYLINE:

With their house being destroyed in recent Israeli airstrikes, many Gazans are deprived of the joy of this year's Eid al-Adha, one of the most celebrated festivals on the Islamic calendar.

SOUNDBITE 1 (ARABIC): NAJAH NABHAN, Gazan resident
"For me, there is no Eid. I'm now living in a place for rent, but I'll come to my house in the morning hours because there is nothing like this house in which I lived and grew up. I am not comfortable anywhere else, and I suffer from a bad psychological condition, and the same thing goes for my children and grandchildren as well. We don't have any chance to celebrate."

Now, instead of going to the markets and buying new clothes, Najah's grandchildren were searching in the rubble of their destroyed house for clothes they could wear.

SOUNDBITE 2 (ARABIC): MOHAMMED NABHAN, Najah's son
"I used to live in my house safely, but now I live in a place for rent. Now I do not feel any comfort because I have become homeless. I want a home again so that I can fully rest, enjoy the holidays, and celebrate like others."

In May, Gaza and the Israeli army engaged in a five-day military confrontation after a sudden Israeli airstrike killed three senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement in the enclave.

During the conflict, the Israeli army destroyed 120 residential units in Gaza, leading to the displacement of more than 1,000 people, according to official statistics issued by the Hamas-run Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza.

The Israeli army said its attacks targeted sites belonging to the PIJ and houses it used to launch rockets at Israeli cities.

SOUNDBITE 3 (ARABIC): MOHAMMED ABU OBEID, Gazan resident
"What happened to us is one of the catastrophes that our people are going through, as well as our neighbors who don't have any fault. Even if my house was targeted, what is the fault of my neighbors? They were deported and dispersed because their homes were bombed. No one knows when the reconstruction will take place, nor do we know what we will face in the future."

It was the second time that Abu Obeid has lost his residence. The Israeli army destroyed his house in 2014, accusing him of involvement in military activities with the PIJ.

"During the first time (2014), I was displaced for more than three years before I managed to rebuild my house in late 2017. Now, my 20-member families became displaced again and can not celebrate the Eid," the man said.

Both Nabhan and Abu Obeid fear that they would have to wait a long time before their homes can be rebuilt, as officials in Gaza have warned them about the lack of international donations.

The Gaza Strip needs about 205.5 million U.S. dollars to reconstruct all the houses destroyed during the wars since 2008, according to Jawad al-Agha, the undersecretary of the Hamas-run Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza.

"Currently, there are about 1,980 totally-destroyed and more than 90,000 partially-destroyed houses that have not been reconstructed," said al-Agha.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)