Gazans Take Coastal Walks to Escape 'Double Confinement'

Palestinians walk on the beachfront of the Gaza Strip in a bid to escape the confinement of coronavirus restrictions -- which come on top of the Israeli blockade of the enclave | AFP
Palestinians walk on the beachfront of the Gaza Strip in a bid to escape the confinement of coronavirus restrictions -- which come on top of the Israeli blockade of the enclave | AFP
TT
20

Gazans Take Coastal Walks to Escape 'Double Confinement'

Palestinians walk on the beachfront of the Gaza Strip in a bid to escape the confinement of coronavirus restrictions -- which come on top of the Israeli blockade of the enclave | AFP
Palestinians walk on the beachfront of the Gaza Strip in a bid to escape the confinement of coronavirus restrictions -- which come on top of the Israeli blockade of the enclave | AFP

At sunrise in Gaza, the strip's coastal path begins to fill up with pedestrians, as growing numbers of Palestinians have taken up walking to relieve stress trapped inside the Israel-blockaded enclave.

Life in Gaza, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas since 2007, was mentally taxing even before the novel coronavirus outbreak brought additional hardship, including nightly curfews and tight movement restrictions.

"There's a lot of mental pressure in Gaza. We suffer from it," said 40-year-old Walid al-Louh, wearing a New York Yankees cap.

"People come out to walk along the seashore, just to let off steam."

As the pandemic has dragged on, larger crowds of men in tracksuits and women -- whose running shoes are just barely visible beneath their long robes -- stroll, or stride briskly, along Gaza's Mediterranean coastline.

"I used to walk before coronavirus," Louh told AFP. "There were maybe dozens of people walking then, but now it's hundreds and hundreds."

One of the new devotees is Hanadi al-Akawy, 32, who said she walks five kilometers (three miles) a day with her husband "to get rid of psychological pressure".

- 'Window of freedom' -

Gaza's densely-packed population of two million people was, in the early phase of the global pandemic, seen as uniquely protected given the movement restrictions already in place.

The coastal strip has only two entry and exit points, the Erez crossing to Israel and the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

The flow of people through Erez is tightly controlled by Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas since 2008, and maintains a crippling blockade it says is necessary to contain a hostile Islamist group.

As the virus began to spread globally, both crossings were almost completely closed, and Hamas imposed strict quarantine measures for the small numbers of people allowed in and out.

Gaza's health infrastructure is weak, partly due to the blockade, so when the virus began to spread within the enclave, Hamas imposed draconian measures to contain it.

Those included nightly curfews and a mandatory 5:00 pm closing hour for businesses.

Gazans began to lament their "double confinement," referring to coronavirus restrictions and the blockade.

Gaza has so far recorded more than 10,500 Covid-19 cases, including 48 deaths.

However, fears that a raging pandemic would devastate the enclave's vulnerable and impoverished population have not materialized.

But for psychiatrist Samir Zaqout, the additional stress brought by the pandemic was "too much" for a population that already felt imprisoned.

The Gaza-based expert said that watching people take their coastline jaunts reminds him of prison inmates relishing their daily walk in the exercise yard, before being sent back to their cells.

"People do what they can to let out their emotions," Zaqout told AFP. "Walking is a part of that, especially since the seaside is our only window of freedom."

- 'Walking is life' -

Zaqout said Hamas has not done enough to mitigate mental health issues in the strip.

According to a 2017 study published by the PLOS ONE scientific journal, the Palestinian Territories had the highest rates of depression compared to a group of 20 countries surveyed, which ranged from Morocco to Afghanistan.

A 2020 poll from the British charity Islamic Relief said that 80 percent of 2,000 workers surveyed in Gaza reported having "mental problems" caused by the pandemic, which reduced their already limited income.



Lebanese Army Denies Reports Claiming Militant Infiltration and Troop Withdrawal in Bekaa

Lebanese army units deploy on the Lebanese -Syrian border (File/Reuters) 
Lebanese army units deploy on the Lebanese -Syrian border (File/Reuters) 
TT
20

Lebanese Army Denies Reports Claiming Militant Infiltration and Troop Withdrawal in Bekaa

Lebanese army units deploy on the Lebanese -Syrian border (File/Reuters) 
Lebanese army units deploy on the Lebanese -Syrian border (File/Reuters) 

The Lebanese Army on Sunday denied reports alleging the infiltration of armed groups into Lebanon and the army's withdrawal from border areas in the Bekaa region.

In an official statement posted on its X page, the army said, “Further to previous statements, the Army Command denies what is being circulated on a number of social media sites regarding the entry of armed persons into Lebanon and the withdrawal of the army from border areas in the Bekaa.”

The statement affirmed that “the relevant military units continue to carry out their regular missions to control the Lebanese-Syrian border, in addition to monitoring the security situation internally to maintain stability and prevent any threat to civil peace.”

The Army Command then called for maintaining accuracy in reporting news related to the military institution and the security situation, and refraining from spreading rumors that could lead to tension among citizens.