Supporter: Haitham

Haitham: "[Because of the war] I started to view the governments of other countries differently. It seems they think that the civilians and the victims are not real human beings. And so I do not believe in their role.

"My parents, siblings and even the younger generation all experienced war and will continue to experience that. Yet, I hope that there will be some peaceful solution after this war. We have to believe that peace is the only solution.

"I would like to tell the extremists to let the moderate parties find a solution. There should not be any kind of extremism because we, as Palestinians, have one common goal."

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Haitham: "Life is getting back to normal, but institutes and banks are still closed. People are worried about their houses and are fixing the damages. It's miserable.

"I would wait and see what they will have to say first. We are stuck between the Israelis and Hamas. We are the victims. We are suffering. So let them see what happened in Gaza and learn about what is happening in order to have peace and security in the region. I don’t believe the war is over. Palestinians must unite before discussing any agreement with the Israelis.

"I will be back to work. I don’t know how things will look like though, but the coming months will be difficult because it will take ten years until we rebuild Gaza."

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Haitham: "We came back home yesterday. There are bullets in the walls, the glass is broken along with other things, so we are trying to repair the damage in order for my parents to come back. There are so many changes. People are going back to their homes. They are out in the streets, but people are miserable and depressed. The landscape in Gaza has changed. The roads are not as they used to be.

"From the point of view of a civilian I feel like the cease fire is not real. We were really scared yesterday when we were on our way to home. The Israelis started the war and they ended it, so it is up to them. We just hope things get better."

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Haitham: "It is quiet right now, we go used to the war, it has become part of our routine. At least now we can leave home during the daily cease fire, so I visit my grandparents everyday.

"In Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, people live a somewhat normal life….but after sunset no one walks around. We hear the bombing but it is far away. Everyday, after midnight the shelling starts, so one cannot sleep because the house shakes.

"I would like to thank the Arab world for their support. Apparently people in Yemen, Libya, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates are able to call Gaza for free during the war in order to support us. To hear from people we do not even know is a very nice gesture. I hope that no one would experience what we have been through. I hope this war ends really soon so that we would have peace."

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Haitham: "Too many people are staying in the same place with us (25 people) so there are a few difficulties with that, we are very bored and tired of all this. So we are trying to sort things out and manage things at home.

"Lately I have been going to sleep really late at night and waking up really late as well. I am used to going to the university, to work, and to see my friends, but now I spend my time at home, there are very few activities, we hang out with each other at home.

"Every morning I pray that this war would end really soon, hopefully we will be able to live a normal safe life just like before the war or even better."

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