Residents of Gaza Rejoice at Returning Home, But Are Uncertain about the Future

Palestinians are seen at the Rafah crossing ahead of their return to Gaza. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Palestinians are seen at the Rafah crossing ahead of their return to Gaza. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Residents of Gaza Rejoice at Returning Home, But Are Uncertain about the Future

Palestinians are seen at the Rafah crossing ahead of their return to Gaza. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Palestinians are seen at the Rafah crossing ahead of their return to Gaza. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Residents of Gaza rejoiced at being allowed to return to their homes in the coastal enclave as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold. 

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, they said they were looking forward to the extension of the truce and return of peace. 

Many of those who fled the Israeli strikes had sought the Rafah area and Egypt’s al-Arish city. 

Ayman Hanieh, a father in his 40s had stayed in al-Arish with his relatives for around 50 days, said he was eager to return to Gaza to see his children. 

He had left the enclave before the war erupted on October 7 to seek treatment for a stroke, which left him in a wheelchair. He was planning on returning home on October 8, but the conflict derailed his plan. 

He remarked however, that he was unsure what awaits him when he returns, revealing that Israel had targeted his home. He declared though that he was determined to be reunited with his children, but will brace himself for the worst. 

He spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat about the “unknown” that awaits them, tearfully expressing his fear about the fate of his relatives. 

“Death in our nation is better than life outside of it,” Ayman added. 

“I don’t know how I'll be able to arrange affairs when I return to Gaza. I don’t even know how I will get back there or reach my children,” he stated. 

Atiyeh Abou Fadel, a man in his 30s, was waiting at the Rafah crossing to be allowed entry to return to his home in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. He had left the enclave three days before the war erupted. 

“The situation in Gaza is very difficult; everyone knows that. However, despite this, we want to return to our homes and relatives,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. 

“Everyone is relieved with the ceasefire, but they don’t know what is in store for them,” he said. 

He hoped that everyone “could enjoy peace and calm, away from wars, strikes, killing and destruction.” 

He added that images of the victims that had emerged from Gaza continue to haunt him. “I don’t know if I will find my relatives and friends when I return,” he confided. 

Umm Ayman, a woman in his 70s, spoke with heartache about the disaster. “I want to die in my country,” she declared. 

“I’m afraid of returning to Gaza and not finding my family,” she said as she was overcome by tears. 



Harris Tries to Thread the Needle on Gaza After Meeting with Netanyahu 

US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC, US, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC, US, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Harris Tries to Thread the Needle on Gaza After Meeting with Netanyahu 

US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC, US, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC, US, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee for president, is attempting to bridge divides within the party over the war in Gaza, emphasizing Israel's right to defend itself while also focusing on alleviating Palestinian suffering.

She delivered remarks after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that reflected a delicate balancing act on one of the country's most divisive political issues. Some Democrats have been critical of President Joe Biden's steadfast support for Israel despite the increasing death toll among Palestinians, and Harris is trying to unite her party for the election battle with Republican candidate Donald Trump.

"We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies," she said. "We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent."

Harris did not deviate from the administration's approach to the conflict, including grueling negotiations aimed at ending the fighting, releasing hostages held by Hamas and eventually rebuilding Gaza. She also said nothing about military assistance for Israel, which some Democrats want to cut.

Instead, she tried to refocus the conversation around mitigating the calamity in Gaza, and she used language intended to nudge Americans toward an elusive middle ground.

"The war in Gaza is not a binary issue," she said. "But too often, the conversation is binary when the reality is anything but."

In addition, Harris made a more explicit appeal to voters who have been frustrated by the ceaseless bloodshed, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

"To everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you, and I hear you," she said.

Harris' meeting with Netanyahu was private, and she described it as "frank and constructive." She also emphasized her longtime support for Israel, which includes raising money to plant trees in the country when she was a young girl.

Jewish Americans traditionally lean Democratic, but Republicans have tried to make inroads. Trump claimed this week that Harris "is totally against the Jewish people" because she didn't attend Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress. The vice president was traveling in Indiana during the speech.

Harris is married to a Jewish man, Doug Emhoff, who has played an outspoken role in the administration's efforts to combat antisemitism.

Netanyahu did not speak publicly after his meeting with Harris. His trip was scheduled before Biden dropped his reelection bid, but the meeting with Harris was watched closely for clues to her views on Israel.

"She is in a tricky situation and walking a tightrope where she’s still the vice president and the president really is the one who leads on the foreign policy agenda," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, a Democrat whose city is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the nation. "But as the candidate, the presumptive nominee, she has to now create the space to differentiate in order for her to chart a new course."

Protesters gathered outside Union Station on the day of Netanyahu's speech, ripping down American flags and spray painting "Hamas is coming."

Harris sharply criticized those actions, saying there were "despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric. "

"I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence of any kind have no place in our nation," she said in a statement.

As vice president, Harris has tried to show little daylight between herself and Biden. But David Rothkopf, a foreign policy writer who has met with her, said there's been "a noticeable difference in tone, particularly in regards to concern for the plight of innocent Palestinians."

The difference was on display in Selma, Alabama, in March, when Harris commemorated the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march for voting rights in 1965.

During her speech, Harris said that "given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire."

The audience broke out in applause. A few sentences later, Harris emphasized that it was up to Hamas to accept the deal that had been offered. But her demand for a ceasefire still resonated in ways that Biden's comments had not.

An AP-NORC poll conducted in June found that about 6 in 10 Democrats disapproved of the way Biden is handling the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Roughly the same number said Israel's military response in Gaza had gone too far.

Israeli analysts said they doubted that Harris would present a dramatic shift in policies toward their country.

Chuck Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser and senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said Harris was from a generation of American politicians who felt they could both support Israel and publicly criticize its policies.

"The question is as president, what would she do?" Freilich said. "I think she would put considerably more pressure on Israel on the Palestinian issue overall."