Jan. 29, 2026, 8:44 AM EST
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A key border post is set to reopen, the ceasefire advances and the The United States imagines a sparkling new Gazabut Palestinians in the devastated enclave are still struggling to simply survive.
Residents of the Gaza Strip this week described desperate conditions, but also expressed hope that the reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt and Phase two of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will bring some relief after more than two years of death and destruction.
We “hope this will be good for us because we live in a very bad situation,” said Samir Abu Daqa, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, as he stood outside a makeshift tent with his five young children.
“We want reconstruction, we want a life, we want schools, we want medical care, we want hospitals,” said Abu Daqa, 51, who said he previously worked in a cafeteria but was injured during the war and unable to work.
Samir Abu Daqa, 51, and his five children, from left to right, Lana, 8, Nora, 11, Sabah, 9, Muhammad, 4, and Lama, 10.Provided to NBC NewsAfter months of stagnation, a breakthrough was made this week in efforts to advance the ceasefire deal negotiated in part by the president. Donald Trump.
THE remains of the last hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, 24 year old policeman Ran Gvili, were returned to Israel on Monday, completing a key pillar of the truce after tensions over delays and accusations of ceasefire violations.
Opening of the Rafah terminalIsrael is now expected to keep its promise of at least partially reopen the Rafah border crossing in Gaza with Egypt, long seen as a lifeline for the Palestinians and their main gateway to the rest of the world.
Hundreds of thousands of families across Gaza have been forced to wait out the first phase of the ceasefire in makeshift tents, with little protection from the cold and heavy rains that have flooded the camps – or from occasional Israeli strikes that have also rained despite the truce.
“We hope that the Rafah crossing will open so that we can travel freely and meet many of our family members, those who have been forcibly displaced outside the Gaza Strip,” said Duaa Basem Al-Masri, a 26-year-old pharmacist from Beit Hanoun.
She hopes that progress will soon result in the arrival in the Gaza Strip of “medical aid, medicines and appropriate shelter equipment, to alleviate the suffering” in Gaza.
“We hope that there will be international pressure from President Donald Trump on them,” Basem Al-Masri said.
Duaa Basem Al-Masri, a 26-year-old pharmacist from Beit Hanoun who was moved to Khan Younis.Provided to NBC NewsThe second stage of the truce will also require disarmament of Hamas, a key sticking point in negotiations, as well as the evolution of Trump’s plan international force to oversee security in Gaza.
In a speech Tuesday evening, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his leadership was focused on completing “two remaining missions: the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza’s weapons and tunnels.”
“It’s either going to be done the easy way or the hard way,” he said. “But either way, it will happen.”
Even though the ceasefire took effect almost four months ago, progress toward the second stage has been delayed by Hamas. struggled to fulfill a key requirement of the first phase – the return of all the hostages, which she said was made more difficult by the destruction of the territory.
For months, only Gvili’s remains had yet to be returned, with Israel announcing their recovery on Monday after launching a large-scale operation to locate them, amid growing pressure from the Trump administration to move to the next phase of the deal.
“People continue to die”Describing last week the American vision for the future of the Palestinian enclave, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law unveiled plans for a “New Gaza” marked by gleaming skyscrapers and tourist-filled beaches.
This ambitious presentation in Davos, Switzerland, was a far cry from the dire living conditions Palestinians currently face.
Across the devastated territory, families sheltering in makeshift tents are relying on limited aid as they continue to bury loved ones killed in ongoing Israeli strikes.
As of January 22, at least 1.3 million people were estimated to be living in accommodation sites across the Gaza Strip, primarily in the central city of Deir al Balah and Khan Younis in the south, according to a update of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Tents and shelters at a displaced persons camp Wednesday near Unknown Soldier Square in Gaza City.Omar al-Qattaa / AFP – Getty ImagesThe World Food Program warned Earlier this month, although critical progress had been made in fending off famine in the enclave, food security “remains extremely fragile.”
In a briefingOCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko said the UN and its humanitarian partners had “delivered almost 200,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza” since the ceasefire began, but she said humanitarian organizations still faced “severe limitations”.
Asked about the total amount of aid entering Gaza since the ceasefire began, Israeli military agency COGAT did not provide a direct answer, but shared a job published Thursday on X claiming that 4,200 aid trucks were entering Gaza every week and condemning the United Nations for suggesting the situation in the enclave was still “dire.”
Before the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, around 500 trucks carrying aid entered the enclave daily, according to the British Red Cross and other organizations.
Mai Elawwda, communications officer for Palestinian Medical Aid, said access to clean water, shelter equipment and medicine remains limited, while thousands of people are on waiting lists to be allowed to leave Gaza for medical care.
“We are talking about basic needs here,” Elawwda, based in central Gaza, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “People continue to die because of deteriorating living conditions. »
More than 480 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, with Israel accused of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement by carrying out airstrikes.
The Israeli military separately accused Hamas of attacking its forces and violating the truce.
From the vantage point of tents waterlogged by rain during the harsh winter months, Palestinians said they found it hard to imagine the glittering tourist destination touted as Gaza’s future.
“Build hotels and facilities just to attract visitors – but where would the people of this besieged land go – with their children and grandchildren, and with the traditions and customs they have preserved for decades?” » said Bassem Al-Masri.
“They would erase Gaza’s identity to earn a small amount of money that would eventually disappear,” she added.
Chantal Da Silva reports global news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Charlene Burns
contributed
.