One Year After War, Gaza Frustrated At Slow Reconstruction

By Maram Humaid, Al Jazeera

During last year’s Israeli offensive in Gaza, Imadeldin Abed’s apartment became a refuge for 13 people, gathering to try and avoid the bombs falling on the besieged Palestinian territory.

But on May 17, 2021, Abed said he received a phone call from an Israeli army intelligence officer, telling him his home was about to be targeted.

The apartment, in central Gaza City, was destroyed in the subsequent Israeli air attack.

At the time he received the call, Abed had been combing through the rubble of a relative’s home, which had been bombed, leaving dozens of civilians dead.

“I didn’t expect it would happen immediately to my home,” Abed told Al Jazeera.

“The Israeli officer told me that we should evacuate our building within 15 minutes. The officer stressed it was forbidden to take any of our things or furniture. We just ran out as we were.”

In May 2021, Israel launched a devastating 11-day military offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip, the fourth major offensive launched by Israel on the Palestinian territory in 14 years.

The assault killed at least 261 people, including 67 children, and wounded more than 2,200, according to the United Nations.

Tel Aviv says the offensive was a justified response to rockets and other projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip and puts the blame on the territory’s rulers, Hamas.

Over the course of the conflict, rockets fired from Gaza killed 13 people in Israel.