Khan Younes IDPs Frustrated as Israeli Attacks Continue Despite UNSC Ceasefire Resolution
(Arab World Press) - Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khan Younes, as in the rest of towns and areas in the Gaza Strip, have not had a break from Israeli shelling and raids, even after a United Nations Security Council resolution called for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave.
Mahmoud Omar, busy from the early morning in a stall making the dough for qatayef, a sweet dumpling served during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, said, “last night was hard. It was all shelling and rockets. May God spare us from evil. We want to live in stability.”
“Gaza is beautiful, but the huge population and the siege we are under have caused it to suffocate. We only want to live,” added Omar, who was consoling himself after losing several family members and friends.
IDPs have been frustrated, as all hopes after the announcement of a ceasefire had been dashed. Nearly six months after the war started in October 2023, the UNSC had been able to issue a resolution calling for a ceasefire. The resolution angered Israel, but has not yet been implemented on the ground.
Omar Saeed, an IDP who had hoped he would be able to collect his belongings and check his house back in Gaza, said there was no ceasefire.
“People were killed in Rafah and Khan Younes today, and there were bombing attacks everywhere,” he added.
His old neighbor, Mahmoud Torki, who shares the cares of displacement with him, told Saeed that the Palestinians’ affairs are up to Netanyahu :“Our affair is up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide.
“If Netanyahu orders a ceasefire, there will be a ceasefire. If he decides to invade Rafah, Rafah will be invaded. If he decides to destroy Khan Younes or Al-Shifa and Al-Ma’madani hospitals, they will be destroyed. Who can dissuade these people?” he argued.
Torki later told Saeed, “If you stay here, then it will be good. Just pray for God to protect us in this area.”