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Everything our eyes have seen and continue to see, and everything our ears have heard and still hear — since the days after what was dubbed the Al-Aqsa Flood — attests to the suffering of the Gaza Strip’s cities and villages.
The flames of this tragedy have only intensified over time, as fire rained down on unarmed civilians — children, women and men. The people of Gaza wandered aimlessly, their eyes wide with terror. They moved their feet without knowing where they were going, their faces ablaze with confusion and fears of getting lost.
They could not tell where they were, or where fate would lead them after they followed the orders of their despotic, belligerent occupier, who commanded them to evacuate from the north to the south, and seemingly in every other direction.
Despite all of that, and all the pain and suffering, the Gazan tragedy was not without its surreal moments. These surreal scenes have likely caught the attention of sharp observers and keen listeners, especially those who followed the events as their own lived experience despite their exile far from their suffering families.
Yet, these bizarre moments are unlikely to have drawn the interest of Palestinians and Arabs accustomed to theorizing and analyzing. Nor that of the leaders of Palestinian and Arab political parties and movements scattered in different capitals across the East and West who were following the events from the comfort of their couches.
Will examples of such surreal scenes be provided? Yes, here is one. I am well aware that many will find my bewilderment at a real event to be strange, but I did find it extraordinarily bizarre. The location: the heart of Gaza City. The date: last Sunday. The event: the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Yet, these bizarre moments are unlikely to have drawn the interest of Palestinians and Arabs accustomed to theorizing and analyzing.
Hamas releases three Israeli women who had been taken hostage during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation — a flood that has left Gaza crippled for the foreseeable future — in exchange for the release of 90 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Several dozen members of the Al-Qassam Brigades surround the vehicle in which the three hostages are being transported. The soldiers are wearing military uniforms, and a forest of green Hamas flags flutters all around them.
Those following the scene closely would notice that the uniforms appear impeccably clean, perfectly pressed. Not a speck of dust could be found, giving us the impression that they had never been worn before. It also seems that the flags are being waved for the very first time.
A question occurs to me. Some might say that it stems from malicious curiosity — so be it; journalists have a duty to raise questions and bear the accusations that follow.
The multifaceted question is this: Was this scene a deliberate attempt by Hamas to send a message, addressed to all the concerned parties around the world? Was Hamas trying to signal that it has a vast reserve of vigorous and capable fighters, with clean uniforms? Did Hamas try to convey that removing it from the equation will not be easy?
There are reasons to think that “yes” is the answer to this justified question, even those who are more enthusiastic about Hamas than its own leaders find this claim inexcusable. The Gazan tragedy has many strange scenes, but the sight of people returning from the camps in the south to the ruins of their northern homes is more than surreal, even if it does speak to the grim reality of Gaza’s inferno.
Has the war on Gaza truly ended? No, absolutely not. There are many solid reasons for this unequivocal negative response. And they could perhaps be laid out in a subsequent column.
Bakir Oweida is a Palestinian journalist who pursued a professional career in journalism in Libya in 1968, where he worked at Al-Haqiqa newspaper in Benghazi, then Al-Balagh and Al-Jihad in Tripoli. He has written for several Arab publications in Britain since 1978. He worked at Al-Arab newspaper, Al-Thadamun magazine and the international Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. He has also worked as a consultant at the online newspaper Elaph.
- This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.