The air on the beach in Gaza City was filled with the happiness screams of young children running in and water last Friday afternoon, and the atmosphere was far from the destruction and rubble of the city as hundreds sought temporary probation.
The beach is about a 10-minute walk from the town and is filled with colorful umbrellas, with adults hiding in the strong afternoon sun and keeping a close eye on young children playing in the nearby Mediterranean. Many people swim in clothes instead of swimsuits – running towards their parents in soaked T-shirts and wiping salt water from their faces.
For some time, the idea of war and the pressure of trying to survive have been splashed, sand castles and kinship. But even this small moment of joy can be tainted by the lost memory of the loss of a loved one, and the imminent fear that any moment will still go wrong.
“I cried when I came here.” Umm Fadi Awad told CBC Press Freedom Photographer Mohamed El Saife that their children were playing nearby while she sat in the rain with several other mothers.
“I'll be here in the past few years, and the environment is so good. Now, it's missing a lot of things, even our happiness isn't what it was in the beginning.”
Palestinians in Gaza explained that the beach used to be a place of entertainment and good memories, and now they found probation in the Israeli-Hamas war, is now bittersweet.
Awad said she and her family moved four to five times between Rafa and Khan Younis during the war before finally returning to Gaza City during the first phase of the ceasefire in January.
At that time, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Eastern Mediterranean, told the Emergency press conference “The psychological trauma faces the people of Gaza are indescribable.”
She went on to say that the collective trauma of war was “deep and unmeasurable.”
So, as Palestinians look for any probation they can find, many turn to one day on the beach.
“Everything has changed”
Awad, 40, sat around a abused table with his friend, and a child was holding a kettle with hot water for tea and coffee while eating a bowl of rice.
The beach is a place to rest and find peace in the chaos of their lives, she said.
“This is the only space we breathe.”
Nearby, Heba Al-Masry admits she was initially afraid to come to the beach, but she finally succumbed to the child's plea and on her second arrival she said they took off to play.
“I can’t stick with my kids,” she explained. “They want to relieve stress and stress.”
Al-Masry, 36, recalls when her family went to the beach before the war and when the shops she knew were still open.
“Everything has changed,” she said.
“Everywhere, you feel like a stranger.”
“All our memories are here”
On another table, Taghreed al-Khairy holds tears, remembering her special trip to the same location with her 30-year-old son in the darkness.
When he comes home from get off work, he will tell her to go to the beach with him and they will stay there until dawn breaks in the clouds.
“We'll sit in this place,” she said. “All our memories are here, but there are no good memories right now.”
She cried as she looked at her phone, full of pictures of her son, she said she and her husband, daughter, son and her children were in trouble. She hopes to have more beach visits with her son, her grandson embraces more, and even longs to argue with her husband about the normality of money.
These trips to the coast may be an opportunity for Gazas to briefly forget their problems, but they are also filled with painful memories of lost loved ones in a war of ongoing efforts.
Hopefully ceasefire as Trump visits the Middle East soon
Hamas released U.S.-Israel's Edan Alexander, who was detained for 19 months on Monday, speaking of a goodwill gesture to the Trump administration, which could lay the foundation for a new ceasefire with Israel.
Alexander, 21, was one of about 250 people on October 7, 2023, killed the Israelis after a Hamas-led attack on Israel in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, Israel's response to ground and air invasions killed more than 52,000 people.
Alexander's release is the first time since Israel broke an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, releasing a fierce strike against Gaza. Many of the 250 hostages were released in the early ceasefire deal, and Israel said 58 hostages were imprisoned and about 23 were still alive.
Hamas freed Edan Alexander, believed to be the last American hostage in the United States, and people hope for a new ceasefire agreement before U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East. The trip began in Saudi Arabia, Qatar stopped, and this time, UAE Trump skipped Israel.
A few days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all aid into the Palestinian enclave, deepening the humanitarian crisis and triggering warnings that the risk of famine would not be lifted if the lockdown was not lifted. The government said the steps were intended to put pressure on Hamas to accept a ceasefire on Israel's terms.
At a temporary food distribution station in the heart of Gaza, Abla Abu Halima is waiting for her turn to have a can of lentil soup. With the extremely short supply of food in Gaza, the distribution becomes chaotic as people push and push. After waiting for a few hours, many people left empty-handed.
The 39-year-old said she was optimistic that U.S. President Donald Trump would be able to help end the war in Gaza, especially given his upcoming trip to the Middle East this week.
“We have hope for God and Trump that we have hope for a solution – we have great hope for him,” Halima said.
Although Trump was scheduled to visit Israel this time, he said in a social media post on Monday when Alexander released: “Hopefully this is the last step needed to end this cruel conflict.”
Halima clung to her soup, hoping that the ceasefire means stability and security for the people of Gaza.
“We want to provide safety for our children, food and education for them.”
Give your child a chance to breathe
Back at the beach, al-masry sat in her black plastic chair, worried that her child would be too far from the shore on the water and that things might soon turn bad.
“I keep an eye on them,” she said, admitting she was still afraid that there might be more strikes.
She said many of the fears and anxiety in the war manifested in her attempt to always keep the child safe, but she reminded herself that she needed to breathe – even if it was just a moment.
As the sun begins to set on the beach on this almost normal Friday afternoon, it means it’s time to get back to reality soon. Al-Masry and her children will return to their family homes in Gaza City, partially destroyed in the war. But she said it was better than living in a tent.
When her two daughters and son ran, their swimming soaked and saw their mountains. She climbed onto her lap as the youngest, his smile quickly turning to tears.
