GAZA, (PIC)
“Children running around amidst sounds of laughter while playing in sea water on the beach of Deir al-Balah, in the company of their families, right next to the displacement tents, enjoying the beautiful sunny weather of Gaza Sea, despite the massive destruction and grave losses caused by the brutal Israeli aggression ongoing for 194 continuous days.”
Such a scene could not have been imagined or believed by those who led the aggression and sought to spread despair, frustration, and defeat in Gaza to push its people towards forced displacement. However, the people of Gaza sent them a message, saying, “The land is our land and the sea is our sea. Let Netanyahu and the criminal gang he leads go and drink the sea water. We will not leave.”
This scene of people enjoying the sea, which is another example of the steadfastness of the people in Gaza, has prompted social media activists to circulate imagery showing scenes of splendor, life, and optimism of the people who faced all kinds of Israeli crimes by clinging to life and steadfastness.
One of social media users commented, “Believe it or not!”, while many others reacted with great admiration and praise for the people who, despite the immense suffering they experienced, remained steadfast, resilient, and hopeful.
The scene of Gazans enjoying the beach outraged the Israeli occupation settlers and officials alike. Under the hashtag “Absolute Victory”, Israelis ridiculed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as Palestinians swim and bathe on Gaza’s beach while Israeli settlers are banned from entering coastal areas in the Gaza Envelope.
Journalist Almog Boker wrote in a post on X, “Absolute victory… This picture makes my body ache. While on Zikim Beach, our beach is declared a closed military area and we the residents cannot approach it without military escort, on the other side of the fence – the Gazans spend time on the beach and bathe in the sea as if there is no war.”
On Wednesday, the beach of the city of Deir al-Balah, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the Gaza Strip, witnessed the turnout of hundreds of Palestinians wishing to flee the ongoing Israeli war that has been ongoing for more than 6 months.
Imagery on social media showed Palestinians lying on the beach under the sun, while others went swimming away from the Israeli war which turned the Strip into the most inflamed area in the world and deprived its people of enjoying the sea for months, according to Anadolu agency.
Many children also appeared enjoying swimming and running on the beach, along with women and young men who flocked in large numbers to the coastline near the tents of the displaced who were forced to flee from different areas within the Strip.
The areas adjacent to the sea are the safest as they are almost the only left places not exposed to relentless Israeli bombardment. This prompted the displaced families to seek refuge on the coastline despite the cold weather. Yet, they get sometimes targeted by the Israeli occupation army.
Meanwhile, Israeli army has continued its war on the Gaza Strip. It attacked, earlier on Wednesday, a school housing displaced people in the Shati Camp, west of Gaza City, resulting in the martyrdom of four Palestinians, including two children, and the injury of others.
Before its withdrawal later on, the Israeli army intensified, for eight days in a row, its ground military operation in the north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, where the army blew up a residential square and a tower in airstrikes.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that left tens of thousands martyred and wounded, most of them children and women.
