Gaza still in ruins, a year after Israeli massacre

Agencies, Gaza City :The people of Gaza are marking a year since the Israeli air raids that heralded the start of a war that left 2,251 Palestinians dead and thousands more wounded. The anniversary on Wednesday of last summer’s war comes as the besieged territory struggles to rebuild its infrastructure, and tens of thousands of its people struggle to access basic amenities.Al Jazeera spoke to Palestinians who said little was being done to help them recover and go on with their lives.One survivor, Ibrahim Abdeldaem, lost his legs in an Israeli air strike while his family was sheltering at a UN school in Gaza City. His father and brother were killed in the attack and one year later he said he had no hope that his life would get any better.”I am completely destroyed. I’ve lost my legs. I’ve lost my job. I can’t leave Gaza because we are under siege on all sides. All I want is at least one artificial limb to feel like a normal person again,” Abdeldaem said.Continuing siegeMore than 12,000 homes were destroyed in the war and 100,000 damaged.International donors including the US and Arab Gulf countries have pledged more than $5bn to help rebuild Gaza.Israel’s economic siege, which has lasted for years, means badly needed construction materials like cement have not been allowed in, despite offers by the United Nations to oversee the process.Around 20,000 Palestinians still live in temporary shelters ranging from cargo containers to makeshift tents in what is left of their bombed-out homes. Two-thirds of the 1.8 million population are recipients of UN aid in one form or another.The director of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Robert Turner, said during a press conference in Gaza on Wednesday that help is needed for more than 7,000 homes to be rebuilt.”All we can do is continue to pass the message that the Palestinians of Gaza deserve a better future,” Turner said. Gaza: A home among the ruinsSeventeen hospitals, 56 primary health facilities, and 45 ambulances were either damaged or completely destroyed during the conflict, costing Gaza’s healthcare system an estimated $50m.In addition to the Palestinian casualties, at least 73 people, including 67 soldiers, were killed on the Israeli side of the conflict.Israel said it was conducting the campaign to put an end to rocket attacks launched by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, which together fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars during the war.Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, has planned commemorations on Wednesday.Israel held a memorial on Monday for its 73 victims killed in the war, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the military offensive.”I say to all enemies of Israel – Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and IS (Islamic State) – that those who attempt to attack our people will pay with their blood,” he said.The circumstances surrounding Gaza have led to fears that another war could eventually break out, with rockets still occasionally fired into Israel and the Jewish state responding with air strikes.Indirect talks on shoring up the ceasefire that ended last year’s war and easing Israel’s strict blockade on the territory have taken place, but there have been no signs that a deal could be reached any time soon.The blockade, as well as a lack of financing from international donors, have been blamed for the slow pace of reconstruction in Gaza, where around 18,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.A split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority led by president Mahmoud Abbas, which runs the Israeli occupied West Bank, has worsened the situation. Reconciliation attempts have failed to heal the rift.Meanwhile, Hamas has been challenged by extremists in Gaza claiming links to the self-styled Islamic State jihadist group, and who have taken credit for recent rocket fire.