Gaza City – Peace, in both the physical and mental sense, feels far away in Gaza.A ceasefire may have officially been in place since October 10, but Israel continues to conduct occasional attacks, with more than 450 Palestinians killed in the three months since.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIt is not just the attacks – daily life in Gaza is also shaped by siege and displacement, and a sense that living conditions will not improve any time soon.Amid this exhaustion came the announcement on Wednesday by the United States of the beginning of the ceasefire’s “second phase”. This phase is about “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction”, said US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in a social media post.The new phase includes a new Palestinian technocratic administration, overseen by an international “Board of Peace”, chaired by US President Donald Trump.But while everything may sound workable on paper, the reaction from Palestinians in Gaza – one that mixes cautious hope and deep scepticism – is shaped by their lived experience since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.“A lot of political decisions are distant from the reality faced in Gaza… our daily life that is filled with blockades, fear, loss, tents, and a terrible humanitarian situation,” said Arwa Ashour, a freelance journalist and writer based in Gaza City. “Even when decisions are made to ease the suffering, they are obstructed by the Israeli occupation authorities.”“People want everything back like it was before the war: schools, hospitals, travel,” Ashour sai …
