°®Âþµº

Despite the ongoing bloody and destructive Israeli war on Gaza, Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclaveÌýexchanged hopes and wishes for the end of thisÌýwarÌýto live a better life in the new year.

In separate interviews with °®Âþµº, Palestinians expressed their hope that the war will end in 2025 and those displaced will return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip and begin to rebuild their lives, even after all the destruction caused by Israel.

For hours, Mohammed Al-Aff from Gaza City was busy sending text messages to his family, relatives, loved ones and friends to wish them a happy new year free of killing and destruction, hoping that they would meet soon.

'Lucky that I have survived...'

Al-Aff lives with his six-member family in a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after being displaced several times, surviving without any of the necessities of life.

"We lament our fate all the time because of the war and its disastrous consequences that we are living, but this does not mean that we should lose hope in life and that the war will end sooner or later," the 45-year-old father of four told TNA.Ìý

The man who lost over 25 kilograms added, "I would like to exchange wishes with my family and loved ones to give them some positive energy [...] We have lost everything in Gaza, and all that is left for us is hope and love of life."

Dalal Al-Arabi, a resident of the town of Al-Qarara in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, clings to the same hope despite suffering heavy losses.

Since the war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 50 members of Dalal's family, including her parents, brothers, sisters, and their children. She currently lives in the remains of her destroyed family home with several of her displaced relatives without any of the necessities of life.Ìý

"The year 2024 was full of sadness, oppression, loss, terror, displacement, hunger, and killing, but I consider myself lucky that I have survived death until this moment," she told TNA.Ìý

"Every time I lose hope, something connects me to this life. I do not want to die and end my parents’ dream of rebuilding their house, completing my studies, and continuing my path in this life to preserve our Palestinian existence," she added.Ìý "I cling to hope and life with all my strength because in doing so, we defeat Israel and thwart its plans to end our existence as Palestinians in Gaza."

Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has been launching a large-scale genocidal war on Gaza, which killed more than 45,545 Palestinians and wounded over 108,338, according to the Gaza-based health ministry.Ìý

"We are tired of the bombing, killing, and destruction. We are human beings who have the right to live with dignity, as is the case with all peoples in the world," Abdul Wahid Al-Arabi from Gaza City remarked to TNA.ÌýÌý

"No matter how hard the war is on us, we will continue to hold on to the hope that one day it will end, we will return to our lives, and we will be able to rebuild our homes. We are a strong people who never give up, even if we do not have weapons," he added.

Abdul Wahid lives in a tent he set up near the ruins of his home in Gaza City. "From inside this tent, I decided to write to my displaced family in the southern areas of the Gaza Strip and tell them that I am impatiently waiting for their return to Gaza, and I am confident that this will happen soon," he said.

According to Hussam al-Dajani, a Palestinian political expert, the Palestinian people are naturally peace-loving and love living. This is naturally reflected in the exchange of congratulations and wishes between the bereaved, as they have nothing but hope to continue their lives.Ìý

"We hope that the peoples of the world will move to express their solidarity with the people of Gaza and pressure their governments to pressure Israel to stop the fire in the Gaza Strip," al-Dajani remarked to TNA.Ìý

Israel continues killing Palestinians

Continuing its crimes against the residents, the Israeli army killed about 20 Palestinians in various places of the coastal enclave, according to officials in Gaza.Ìý

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, told TNA that the Gaza Strip welcomed the new year with continued Israeli crimes.Ìý

"The army killed about 15 Palestinians in a strike at Jabalia refugee camp, while he killed two Palestinians in al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and killed three others in the city of Khan Younis," Basal said.Ìý

Meanwhile, the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders to residents who live in the al-Bureij refugee camps under the pretext of carrying out attacks on targets of Hamas in the territory.Ìý