'Our house in Gaza is completely destroyed but we will rebuild - we’ve done it before'
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A Palestinian man has spoken of the jubilee that came with news of a ceasefire in Gaza but is heartbroken at the prospect of returning to ashes after more than 400 days of bombing and lack of aid causing starvation and death. Mousa Ghoul, who is currently living in a tent with his family, tells the Mirror about the bittersweet feelings in Gaza - happiness that there is a potential end in sight, but horror at the prospect of starting from scratch again.
But his resolve is strong - he and his family saw similar attacks in 2014 whereby a military operation was launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since 2007. Though the end to fighting was welcome news to the region, since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, at least 123 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service.
Mousa is holding on to hope that he and his family will survive the end of the war and return home when the rebuilding can begin, with aid trucks finally reaching the impoverished region. Mousa recalls how the 2014 attacks in Gaza left similar devastation but they were able to rebuild, though slowly. In fact, it wasn’t until 2023 that his family home was restored - only to be bombed later on following the attacks breaking out post October 7.
In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Mousa says: “Our house is completely destroyed but we will rebuild - we’ve done it before”. Of the ceasefire, Mousa tells us: “We’re angry and hurt that it took so long for a ceasefire, in addition to the fact that we lost many loved ones as martyrs, it will be difficult to adapt to life without them. Our house was bombed in the 2014 war, but we were able to rebuild it in 2023 and live in it just one month before the war began. We will rebuild our house again but we need a lot of time, effort and money. I hope this time it will be different and we can rebuild again quickly”.
