2023-24 Trócaire Annual ROI Annual Report
Download HereMs. Marwa Al Sirafi, occupational therapist with the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, a Trócaire partner, leads a Stress Management and Selfcare Session with affected women. Photo: GCMHP
Voices of Gazan Women as ceasefire, though fragile, holds
The Gaza ceasefire has seen a cessation of major hostilities, the release of hostages, and a surge of much-needed humanitarian assistance into the devastated Gaza Strip. Palestinians have begun to return to what is left of their homes and their lives in the shadow of the last 15 months of bombardment. Although this fragile ceasefire has been in place since Sunday, 19th January, attacks from the Israeli forces on Palestinians have continued, including raids on the Jenin refugee camp, which has been in existence since 1953 during Israeli Palestinian conflict when Palestinians were displaced from their homes in the occupied West Bank.
The UN OCHA estimates that in the last 15 months, there have been more than 100,000 people wounded in Gaza, many going without proper medical attention; it is also estimated that nearly 47,000 have been killed, with the number set to rise as Gazans search for their dead amongst the rubble. Since October 2023, over 90% of the population in Gaza has been displaced multiple times, 87% of housing units have been destroyed, and 345,000 people are estimated to be living in catastrophic famine conditions. This level of human devastation has prompted the International Criminal Court to report a breach in International Rights law, as the near–complete destruction of civilian infrastructure and use of starvation as a method of warfare constitutes war crimes.
Families are now navigating the emotions and challenges of rebuilding their lives and city. One Gazan Woman, Fadila, who is working with one of Trócaire’s partners in Gaza, the Women’s Affairs Centre (WAC), a Palestinian NGO, explained the mix of emotions now a ceasefire is in place:
“Our joy is muted, like a whisper in a storm of grief. So many of us carry the unbearable weight of loss—children, parents, and entire families taken from us. But even in this pain, we cling to the quiet relief of the bloodshed ending. I long to walk the streets of Gaza again, to return to my home and feel the warmth of my people.”
Mother, Bahaa, who devastatingly lost her children, said, “Thank God for the ceasefire—it’s what we all prayed for. But with it comes a flood of memories and pain. I think of my children, who were martyred and whom I buried with my own hands, and my husband, who remains a captive of the Israelis, out of reach, beyond my embrace. Yet, even in the shadow of this heartbreak, I will carry this hope forward, for it is the only light we have left to guide us.”
In the short term, it is about supporting the extreme need for essential aid like food, water, clothing, medical treatment, and shelter; before rebuilding can begin, NGOs like WAC play a pivotal role in supporting those on the ground, specifically the women of Gaza.
WACs Director, Ms. Amal Syam, spoke about the challenges Gazans now face. “The first days and weeks of this most recent ceasefire mark the beginning of a struggle to secure life’s basic necessities once again and find ways to access them. It means returning to damaged offices, resuming our work, and continuing to help those in need despite the challenges. The end of military conflict signals the start of new battles, especially for widows, wounded women, female heads of households, breadwinners, disabled women, and countless others who will face enormous risks. It brings a mix of joy and sorrow. On one hand, it allows us to reunite with family, loved ones, and friends. On the other, it forces us to confront the painful absence of those we have lost and the haunting reality of people still trapped beneath the rubble. We will find ourselves standing amidst a world where homes, streets, schools, and everything we once knew no longer exist. A ceasefire means witnessing firsthand the sheer scale of destruction, pain, suffering, and loss.”
Gazans are defiant, and along with other emotions, many feel relief that the fighting has stopped and they can return to the areas they lived in before October 2023. Baheetha, another woman working with WAC, said, “The ceasefire is a lifeline I clung to in my darkest moments. Nights of trembling with fear, of holding my children close as the world around us crumbled, are finally over. Now, all I want is to return to Gaza, to the home I’ve dreamed of every single day, and to feel the embrace of family once more.”
What matters now for the people of Gaza is that they are given the opportunity to go back to their homes, find their loved ones who died amongst the rubble, grieve the loss of the lives they once lived, receive medical treatment and begin to rebuild their city without fear of the ceasefire agreement crumbling. For this to happen, the global community needs to continue to support talks between Hamas and Israel, continue to provide vital aid and work with organisations like WAC and other Trócaire partners on the ground. The global community need to help rebuild and to hold those who waged the last 15 months of terror on the people of Gaza accountable for the untold damage caused, damage that will linger on after neighbourhoods are rebuilt, damage that will be felt by Gazan’s for generations to come, so devastation like this is never allowed to happen again.
For women like Bahaa, Baheetha, and all those left to pick up the pieces of their war-torn homes, there is no rest; there is a long road to normality. The work has only begun, and all many Palestinians hope is that they can continue to move forward, working to rebuild without the threat of attacks beginning again.