WEBVTT 1 00:00:21.080 --> 00:00:24.280 Over 100 days of war in Gaza. 2 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:27.080 According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities, 3 00:00:27.080 --> 00:00:31.680 over 24,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the Israeli offensive. 4 00:00:32.040 --> 00:00:34.680 The majority of them: women and children. 5 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.920 Israel took military action as a response 6 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.560 to the terror attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. 7 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:51.400 Approximately 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, 8 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.840 and over 230 people were abducted to Gaza as hostages. 9 00:00:56.080 --> 00:00:57.840 The Israeli government�s declared goal 10 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:00.400 is to eliminate Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 11 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.400 We asked a colleague who was already living in Gaza before the war 12 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.920 to document everyday life there for us. 13 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:16.920 Mohammed Al-Kahlout is a reporter who works for Deutsche Welle. 14 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.840 He himself has been displaced in the war 15 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:22.840 repeatedly having to flee from the air strikes. 16 00:01:24.080 --> 00:01:28.640 He's been sending us both videos and voice messages since the war began. 17 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:36.280 What we're experiencing today is the worst and most violent war 18 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.760 we've ever had in Gaza for civilians AND for us journalists. 19 00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:47.080 The destruction and suffering raise the question 20 00:01:47.160 --> 00:01:49.840 of what the future might hold for Gaza and the region. 21 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.560 A variety of scenarios are being discussed, 22 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.200 but are any realistic options? 23 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:13.680 For over three months, Israeli forces have been waging war in Gaza. 24 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:17.080 Tens of thousands of bombs and missiles 25 00:02:17.160 --> 00:02:19.000 have struck the narrow coastal strip, 26 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.160 which has been sealed off since the Hamas terror attack on Israel. 27 00:02:25.720 --> 00:02:29.080 Hamas invaded Israel three months ago with the brutal atrocities 28 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.320 of October 7th, and in response, we set three goals 29 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:35.400 to destroy Hamas, to return all of the hostages, 30 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:39.400 and to make sure that Gaza can never again threaten our people. 31 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.280 Israeli society sees the attacks by Hamas, 32 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.439 designated by many countries as a terrorist organization, 33 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.160 as an existential threat. 34 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:50.560 The shock from October 7 is still palpable. 35 00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:52.920 Every day we hear new details. 36 00:02:53.720 --> 00:02:57.080 Many times, the feeling is that each new story is worse than the last. 37 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.040 And then in addition to that, we have the war going on. 38 00:03:00.040 --> 00:03:03.080 And so every day there are soldiers being killed. 39 00:03:03.200 --> 00:03:05.040 There are families who are bereaved, 40 00:03:05.040 --> 00:03:07.640 and those of us who are paying attention 41 00:03:07.720 --> 00:03:09.560 are also devastated by what's going on in Gaza. 42 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:15.000 Knowing that this war is causing such apocalyptic damage in Gaza, 43 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.200 that everybody there is suffering. 44 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:20.600 2.3 million people live in the Gaza Strip, 45 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:24.040 one of the most densely populated areas in the world. 46 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:29.040 On October 13, 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces issued a call 47 00:03:29.040 --> 00:03:31.800 for civilians to leave northern Gaza for the south. 48 00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:34.920 Over a million people tried to flee to safety. 49 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.040 Among them were Mohammed and his family. 50 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.840 I left Gaza City and northern Gaza after the Israeli Army 51 00:03:45.920 --> 00:03:48.200 announced that these areas were now combat zones 52 00:03:48.200 --> 00:03:50.320 and all residents there would be in danger. 53 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.680 I had to move to the south of Gaza with my father and my sister. 54 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.200 The escape route from north to south was very dangerous. 55 00:03:59.200 --> 00:04:01.000 There was non-stop shelling. 56 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:07.439 Thanks to God, I got there safely, in spite of all the dangers. 57 00:04:12.160 --> 00:04:15.680 Mohammed would regularly send us footage clearly showing 58 00:04:15.760 --> 00:04:17.680 the extent of the Israeli bombardments. 59 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.760 The Hamas-led Ministry of Health in Gaza 60 00:04:20.840 --> 00:04:23.080 updated the rising official death toll every day. 61 00:04:23.760 --> 00:04:26.920 Nobody knew how many dead were still buried under the rubble. 62 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.840 More and more people were mourning relatives. 63 00:04:30.280 --> 00:04:32.920 Since Ayat Hamouda's house was destroyed, 64 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.640 she and her baby son have been staying with relatives in Khan Younis. 65 00:04:38.320 --> 00:04:41.640 My three eldest children were downstairs in the yard. 66 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.680 Suddenly I felt the walls blowing up around me. 67 00:04:44.760 --> 00:04:47.400 I heard them crack and then saw them break apart, 68 00:04:47.400 --> 00:04:48.920 like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 69 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:53.680 I saw the light coming in through the cracks, then we were sent flying too. 70 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.720 Ayat lost consciousness during the attack. 71 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.680 After waking up in hospital, she was told that her husband 72 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.040 and three of her children had died. 73 00:05:06.200 --> 00:05:07.800 My children are dead. 74 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.520 I�ve been married for seven years, and I had four children in this time. 75 00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:13.040 Three of them died. 76 00:05:13.080 --> 00:05:15.439 I have nothing to remind me of them. 77 00:05:16.280 --> 00:05:19.920 My husband is dead, my children are dead, 78 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:24.360 the house is gone, and my phone with photos of them on it. 79 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:31.080 She does at least have ONE picture, sent by friends. 80 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.560 Adam is the only child she has left. 81 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:39.800 I�m the only one left for him. 82 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:41.520 We live in a state of fear. 83 00:05:42.200 --> 00:05:44.720 Every night I sleep with him on my lap. 84 00:05:45.200 --> 00:05:47.600 If a missile strikes, it will hit us both. 85 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.439 Either we'll die together or survive together. 86 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:52.600 He has no one except me. 87 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:54.520 And I have no one except him. 88 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.160 What will happen to me if he dies? 89 00:05:57.200 --> 00:05:59.600 And if I die, who will bring him up? 90 00:06:01.400 --> 00:06:03.280 The large number of civilian fatalities 91 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.080 has drawn international criticism. 92 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.280 Talking to Deutsche Welle, government spokesman Eylon Levy 93 00:06:10.280 --> 00:06:12.840 justified the actions of Israeli forces. 94 00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:17.080 We are seeing scenes of widespread destruction 95 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:19.600 because Hamas spent the last 16 years 96 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.080 deliberately redesigning Gaza�s cityscape 97 00:06:23.080 --> 00:06:26.760 in order to hide its military assets under civilian areas. 98 00:06:26.840 --> 00:06:29.320 This is Hamas's human shield strategy. 99 00:06:30.520 --> 00:06:33.560 But is defeating Hamas a realistic goal? 100 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:37.720 A question that a growing number of Israelis have been asking too. 101 00:06:38.200 --> 00:06:42.360 The government and IDF, they announced that we will continue 102 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.560 with the war till the collapse of the Hamas regime, 103 00:06:45.640 --> 00:06:50.560 until the total destruction of Hamas� military capabilities. 104 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:57.200 But you cannot really achieve those goals if you will not be, 105 00:06:57.200 --> 00:07:00.160 you know, with the boots on the ground in Gaza. 106 00:07:00.200 --> 00:07:03.080 The Israeli government has not yet said when 107 00:07:03.200 --> 00:07:06.680 or whether it will be withdrawing its forces from Gaza. 108 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:12.920 After the elimination of Hamas, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized 109 00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:15.320 and be under Israeli security control 110 00:07:15.320 --> 00:07:17.640 and no element in it will either threaten us 111 00:07:17.640 --> 00:07:19.720 or teach its children to destroy us. 112 00:07:22.200 --> 00:07:28.520 Israeli troops had been stationed in Gaza since 1967 but withdrew in 2005. 113 00:07:28.520 --> 00:07:33.200 After Hamas took power, Israel imposed a partial blockade of the territory. 114 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.439 Israel imposed on Gaza a terrible siege, 115 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:40.840 depriving people from basic things. 116 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:44.560 We didn't have clean water in Gaza sufficiently, 117 00:07:45.080 --> 00:07:48.520 people had electricity only 6 hours a day, 118 00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:52.840 and everything that got into Gaza or left Gaza 119 00:07:52.840 --> 00:07:54.840 had to be controlled by Israel. 120 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:59.360 And we had a level of poverty of 70% of the population 121 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.720 under the line of poverty, and more than 80% of young, 122 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:05.800 educated people were unemployed. 123 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:08.920 So, Israel was occupying Gaza in a different way. 124 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.200 And now they want to sustain their military occupation inside Gaza. 125 00:08:14.280 --> 00:08:16.840 A permanent military occupation of Gaza 126 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:18.920 would be rejected internationally, 127 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:23.320 most importantly by Israel�s most powerful ally, the United States. 128 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.200 I made it clear to the Israelis 129 00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:29.520 I think it's a big mistake for them to think they're going to occupy Gaza 130 00:08:29.520 --> 00:08:30.439 and maintain Gaza. 131 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.160 I don't think that works. 132 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:35.280 While Israeli ground troops advanced 133 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:37.600 in northern Gaza at the end of October, 134 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.000 more and more Palestinians sought refuge in the south. 135 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.760 Clean water and food soon became scarce, 136 00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:47.720 and sanitary conditions: intolerable. 137 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.360 Aid deliveries were reduced to a trickle. 138 00:08:51.400 --> 00:08:55.520 This effort to move, to force Palestinians 139 00:08:55.520 --> 00:09:02.840 to the south to keep them with minimal amounts of food and water, 140 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:07.439 creating a desperation amongst Palestinians so that, 141 00:09:07.439 --> 00:09:11.680 you know, more and more are going to die unless they get out 142 00:09:11.680 --> 00:09:16.920 and are able to access support from Egypt 143 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:21.920 is a man-made forced population transfer. 144 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:26.600 In January 2024 a far-right minister of Netanyahu�s government 145 00:09:26.680 --> 00:09:30.000 caused outrage with HIS plan for Gaza. 146 00:09:30.760 --> 00:09:34.400 I call on the prime minister and the new foreign minister: 147 00:09:34.920 --> 00:09:38.680 this is an opportunity to orchestrate an immigration project 148 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:42.080 and to encourage the migration of residents from Gaza 149 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.080 to the countries of the world. 150 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:50.640 That is not Israeli government policy. 151 00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:54.920 We are a lively democracy with many ministers who have many opinions, 152 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:57.920 and those opinions do not reflect the policy of the state of Israel. 153 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:04.280 Every day that the war continues, the sheer mass of bombs and missiles 154 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:06.400 hitting the narrow coastal strip 155 00:10:06.520 --> 00:10:09.920 increases the prospect of Gaza becoming uninhabitable. 156 00:10:13.040 --> 00:10:17.520 These explosives that have been used are now in the ground soil. 157 00:10:17.520 --> 00:10:21.200 The decimated buildings are toxic, made of toxic materials. 158 00:10:21.280 --> 00:10:23.080 That's now part of the soil. 159 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:25.640 It's degraded the environment. 160 00:10:25.760 --> 00:10:29.200 And I think that we don't even have any equipment left in Gaza 161 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.920 to remove and start to think about clearing this up. 162 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:37.400 On October 20, Mohammed and members of his family 163 00:10:37.520 --> 00:10:40.320 first moved to Khan Younis in southern Gaza 164 00:10:40.400 --> 00:10:43.439 like hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians. 165 00:10:45.560 --> 00:10:48.160 After I arrived in southern Gaza, I took my father 166 00:10:48.160 --> 00:10:51.600 and my sister to the Red Crescent building in the city of Khan Younis 167 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.760 and I went to the Nasser hospital in the Khan Younis region. 168 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.840 A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas beginning on November 24 169 00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:06.680 enabled the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. 170 00:11:06.760 --> 00:11:10.200 Negotiations led to the release of around 100 hostages. 171 00:11:11.760 --> 00:11:16.200 Israeli forces estimate that 136 are still being held in Gaza. 172 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.760 And there is growing impatience among ordinary Israelis. 173 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.680 There is pressure within Israeli society 174 00:11:23.760 --> 00:11:26.080 to reach another temporary cease-fire in order to release hostages. 175 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.280 But at the same time, you know, the majority of Israelis 176 00:11:29.280 --> 00:11:30.640 are still supportive of the war. 177 00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:32.640 There is a bit of a contradiction there. 178 00:11:32.640 --> 00:11:35.800 But the cause of releasing the hostages 179 00:11:35.800 --> 00:11:38.760 is certainly the most unifying cause in Israel right now. 180 00:11:39.400 --> 00:11:42.920 During the cease-fire, Mohammed documented the situation 181 00:11:43.040 --> 00:11:44.920 in the refugee camps in Khan Younis. 182 00:11:45.400 --> 00:11:49.360 The war is taking a particularly high toll on the children of Gaza. 183 00:11:50.640 --> 00:11:53.840 The children fell asleep as soon as we arrived here. 184 00:11:53.920 --> 00:11:57.439 They hadn�t slept for two weeks; they were so exhausted. 185 00:11:57.560 --> 00:12:01.439 I swear to God, they just lay down and went straight to sleep. 186 00:12:02.800 --> 00:12:06.200 And when they woke up, they had a little smile on their faces, 187 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:10.360 because there was no more noise from the artillery and the planes. 188 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.200 And no nightmares that they�d die the next morning. 189 00:12:16.280 --> 00:12:20.080 Just imagine, the children�s greatest wish was that the sound 190 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:22.040 of the drones and planes would stop. 191 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:29.360 One local initiative in Khan Younis aims to lift children's spirits. 192 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.080 We want to reach children who have been displaced 193 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:37.840 from the north to the south of Gaza. 194 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.920 These children have suffered so much under the Israeli air strikes. 195 00:12:42.520 --> 00:12:45.560 The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development 196 00:12:45.560 --> 00:12:48.600 is trying to alleviate the psychological burden. 197 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.840 I�m happy that the clowns have come to see us. 198 00:12:55.920 --> 00:12:58.200 We can�t play because of the bombs. 199 00:12:58.280 --> 00:13:01.840 But when the clowns came, we played with them and our friends, 200 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.920 we danced with them and they gave us lots of toys. 201 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:09.439 On December 1, the cease-fire came to an end and the bombing 202 00:13:09.560 --> 00:13:11.200 resumed from both sides. 203 00:13:11.640 --> 00:13:16.080 In northern Gaza, the Israeli military continued to occupy further territory, 204 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.920 reportedly destroying Hamas infrastructure, 205 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.640 including parts of the extensive tunnel system. 206 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:27.000 Numerous Hamas combatants were killed, with many other Palestinians arrested. 207 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.200 In early December, Mohammed sent us a series of pictures 208 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:33.280 and a distressed text message. 209 00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:45.680 The first seven people in the one photo, 210 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.840 he said, were his brothers and cousins. 211 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.720 I was surprised to see a picture of my brothers 212 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:57.920 and cousins circulating on the Internet. 213 00:14:00.040 --> 00:14:04.520 I didn�t know where exactly it was taken in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. 214 00:14:05.439 --> 00:14:08.720 Eyewitnesses said that the Israelis stormed the area 215 00:14:08.800 --> 00:14:11.560 and all the young men there were arrested. 216 00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:16.600 The arrests were justified shortly afterwards 217 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.400 by Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy. 218 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:24.920 We are talking about military-age men who were discovered 219 00:14:25.040 --> 00:14:28.400 in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago. 220 00:14:28.400 --> 00:14:31.840 We�ve been calling for an evacuation of those Hamas strongholds 221 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:34.920 in order to locate the Hamas October 7th monsters 222 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.000 with minimal harm to civilians. 223 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:39.760 Now those individuals will be questioned, 224 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:44.200 and we will work out who indeed was a Hamas terrorist and who is not. 225 00:14:46.920 --> 00:14:48.840 Of course I asked my brothers, 226 00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:50.920 cousins and uncles if they wanted to come to the south with us, 227 00:14:50.920 --> 00:14:52.280 but they refused. 228 00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:56.680 They said there were dangers and strikes everywhere, 229 00:14:56.680 --> 00:14:59.640 and that everyone had to suffer their own fate. 230 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:04.840 In the second half of December, 231 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:07.800 the Netanyahu government started bombing southern Gaza too, 232 00:15:07.800 --> 00:15:09.439 with increasing intensity. 233 00:15:09.560 --> 00:15:13.000 Among the buildings hit was the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, 234 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.600 where our reporter Mohammed was staying. 235 00:15:20.400 --> 00:15:24.600 I had to leave the Nasser hospital last night after it had been hit twice 236 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:26.600 in the morning and the evening. 237 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.200 The building next to where I was sleeping came under attack. 238 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:37.920 Of Gaza's 36 hospitals, only a handful are functioning 239 00:15:37.920 --> 00:15:40.760 and even then, only at rudimentary capacity 240 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:43.720 and largely without electricity or medicines. 241 00:15:44.680 --> 00:15:47.640 Bombing hospitals is classified as a war crime, 242 00:15:47.760 --> 00:15:50.280 unless they're being used for military purposes, 243 00:15:50.280 --> 00:15:53.439 as Israel and US intelligence claim to be the case. 244 00:15:53.560 --> 00:15:56.000 Hamas rejects the accusations. 245 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:00.040 Israel has been facing growing international criticism 246 00:16:00.040 --> 00:16:01.840 over its operations in Gaza. 247 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:07.320 On December 29, South Africa filed an application 248 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.200 at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, 249 00:16:10.439 --> 00:16:15.080 asking it to investigate an alleged violation of the Genocide Convention. 250 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.920 We think it is outrageous that Pretoria has chosen to play advocate 251 00:16:20.040 --> 00:16:24.840 for the devil by covering up the crimes of the Hamas rapist regime 252 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:27.439 and giving it legal and political cover. 253 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:31.080 And we have no doubt that if there is justice in the world, 254 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.280 the International Court of Justice 255 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.360 will throw out Pretoria�s outrageous accusations 256 00:16:36.400 --> 00:16:38.720 and make it very clear it was Hamas 257 00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:41.840 that perpetrated an act of genocide on October 7. 258 00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:44.600 Since January 11, the judges in The Hague 259 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.560 have also been deliberating over a request by South Africa 260 00:16:47.560 --> 00:16:49.920 to order an immediate end to the war. 261 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:52.800 The genocide case itself could take years. 262 00:16:53.560 --> 00:16:57.400 Even if the war were to end soon, Gaza's future is uncertain. 263 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:02.560 There is as yet no strategy as to who should govern Gaza after the war. 264 00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:06.360 Some have raised a potential option involving Arab nations. 265 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.200 There are various signals from Arab states 266 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:14.160 that they also see a role for themselves in the future of Gaza. 267 00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:19.000 There's also huge domestic pressure on the streets for them to take action. 268 00:17:22.840 --> 00:17:26.160 They can bring all the international forces in the world 269 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.280 and put them on the borders. 270 00:17:27.280 --> 00:17:28.840 We don't care about that, 271 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.040 but they cannot bring other countries to rule us. 272 00:17:32.520 --> 00:17:37.800 Would German people accept that France will rule them or Britain 273 00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:40.160 or any other country? Of course not. 274 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.080 And Palestinians deserve to have independence, 275 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:46.160 deserve to have the right of ruling themselves. 276 00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:49.360 Who should take political responsibility 277 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:50.920 for the people of Gaza in future? 278 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.200 One possibility would be the Palestinian Authority, 279 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:55.840 which governs in the West Bank, 280 00:17:55.840 --> 00:18:00.200 and is led by the internationally recognized president Mahmoud Abbas. 281 00:18:00.280 --> 00:18:02.920 The Palestinian Authority does not have capacity 282 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:08.200 to deal with the scale of what's taking place in Gaza. 283 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:10.920 It's already deemed illegitimate by the Palestinians 284 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:14.560 because it hasn't been able to deliver on basic services, 285 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:19.680 but also on a peace agreement that would see an end to occupation. 286 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.160 It is an authority without authority, 287 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.800 because Israel deprived it from all authorities. 288 00:18:24.800 --> 00:18:27.640 It is an authority under Israeli occupation. 289 00:18:27.760 --> 00:18:30.600 It cannot control any area in the West Bank. 290 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:34.840 They can't even control the revenues of the Palestinian Authority, 291 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:39.360 which come from Palestinian taxpayers. 292 00:18:39.360 --> 00:18:42.000 Israel is also controlling that. 293 00:18:42.560 --> 00:18:46.760 Hamas has ruled Gaza since the elections in 2006. 294 00:18:46.760 --> 00:18:49.680 For years, the group received millions of dollars 295 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:51.400 in financial backing from Qatar 296 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:54.400 a connection that research by the New York Times 297 00:18:54.439 --> 00:18:56.439 reveals was not only tolerated, 298 00:18:56.600 --> 00:18:59.439 but actually supported by Benjamin Netanyahu. 299 00:19:00.760 --> 00:19:03.800 Netanyahu had been advancing a policy 300 00:19:03.840 --> 00:19:05.640 of dividing the Palestinian leadership, 301 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.520 strengthening or at least tolerating Hamas, 302 00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:09.800 allowing it to be supported with Qatari money 303 00:19:09.800 --> 00:19:14.160 in order to avoid reaching any sort of political resolution to the conflict. 304 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:19.840 They wanted Hamas to remain in place, keep the threat managed, 305 00:19:19.840 --> 00:19:22.800 but ensure that there was a divided Palestinian leadership. 306 00:19:22.800 --> 00:19:26.280 But the question now is: what is to be done with Hamas? 307 00:19:27.800 --> 00:19:30.080 They will not be able to eliminate Hamas. 308 00:19:30.080 --> 00:19:32.640 Hamas is not just a military structure. 309 00:19:33.560 --> 00:19:38.160 And the question here, is there a possibility that Hamas 310 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.400 could be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? 311 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:42.840 The answer is yes. 312 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:44.280 I know them well. 313 00:19:44.360 --> 00:19:46.760 They would accept a two-state solution 314 00:19:46.800 --> 00:19:49.320 if there was a real two-state solution. 315 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.080 Now, there is, of course, a lively political debate 316 00:19:52.080 --> 00:19:55.640 about how we reach a secure peace with the Palestinians. 317 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:57.840 And if there's one thing that everyone in this debate 318 00:19:57.840 --> 00:20:02.400 can agree on is that there is no room for the Hamas rapist regime 319 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:07.280 after this war, because Hamas exists in order to oppose peace. 320 00:20:07.280 --> 00:20:09.840 Hamas doesn't want a two-state solution. 321 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.920 Hamas wants the final solution. 322 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.840 A two-state solution has been under discussion for decades. 323 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:20.400 It would involve a Palestinian state consisting of the Gaza Strip 324 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.520 and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as capital. 325 00:20:24.840 --> 00:20:27.680 But Israelis have been building settlements in the West Bank 326 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.840 for decades, in violation of international law. 327 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:39.520 You can't have settlements and a two-state solution, it doesn't work. 328 00:20:39.520 --> 00:20:44.160 Settlers are already controlling 60% of the West Bank. 329 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:48.560 And in this area of 60% of the West Bank, 330 00:20:48.560 --> 00:20:53.720 Palestinians are not allowed to build a school, a kindergarten, 331 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:55.400 a clinic, a house, nothing. 332 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.200 Netanyahu continues to reject the two-state solution. 333 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:05.800 I�m proud that I prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state, 334 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:08.840 because today everybody understands what it could have meant 335 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:11.520 after seeing the little Palestinian state in Gaza. 336 00:21:11.520 --> 00:21:14.840 Everyone knows what would have happened if we had capitulated 337 00:21:14.840 --> 00:21:17.520 to international pressures and enabled a state like that 338 00:21:17.560 --> 00:21:19.000 in Judea and Samaria, 339 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:22.400 surrounding Jerusalem and on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. 340 00:21:24.800 --> 00:21:28.360 While Israelis continued to face rocket attacks from Gaza 341 00:21:28.439 --> 00:21:31.400 and fear for the fate of the abducted hostages, 342 00:21:31.520 --> 00:21:33.520 hundreds of people were dying every day 343 00:21:33.520 --> 00:21:36.080 in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza too. 344 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:42.840 On January 7, Mohammed sent us another video and a message. 345 00:21:42.840 --> 00:21:45.600 An attack by the Israeli forces had killed 346 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:48.400 most members of a well-known Palestinian family 347 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.080 men, women and children. 348 00:21:54.280 --> 00:22:00.280 Last night a chalet belonging to the Abu Al-Naga family was attacked. 349 00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:06.040 Like many others, this family was forced to leave Gaza City 350 00:22:06.080 --> 00:22:07.760 and moved to the South. 351 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:10.920 The chalet was hit in a strike. 352 00:22:12.520 --> 00:22:15.640 I was there in the morning with other journalists, 353 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.160 and we filmed what happened and how the family, 354 00:22:19.280 --> 00:22:24.000 relatives and neighbors tried to pull the bodies out from under the rubble. 355 00:22:31.600 --> 00:22:33.840 Oh, my dearest ones: 356 00:22:33.840 --> 00:22:37.400 I spoke to my mother-in-law and she asked why I left. 357 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.040 I told her that I wanted to say goodbye to my family, 358 00:22:42.080 --> 00:22:43.640 and then come back. 359 00:22:43.760 --> 00:22:45.400 We have a travel permit. 360 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.280 We wanted to escape this injustice. 361 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.920 They were supposed to be leaving today. 362 00:22:53.080 --> 00:22:55.000 Why are they doing this to us? 363 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:58.840 The girls died last night - I can't take it anymore. 364 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:02.200 The girls are gone, Hamoud is gone. 365 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:04.160 My dearest Hamoud. 366 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.520 Nobody asks about us or defends us. 367 00:23:11.520 --> 00:23:15.000 Over 30,000 people have been made martyrs so far, 368 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:16.920 and we don't know what's next. 369 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:20.080 None of the parties will compromise, 370 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.560 and the people are the ones paying the price. 371 00:23:22.560 --> 00:23:25.080 Death will come to us too. 372 00:23:25.080 --> 00:23:28.800 We are still alive, but we're expecting to die any minute. 373 00:23:30.320 --> 00:23:33.720 Rebuilding Gaza after the end of the war and making it 374 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:36.840 fit for people to live in again will be a colossal undertaking. 375 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:40.680 There will have to be multiple actors involved. 376 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:42.720 Too often we use the word international community 377 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.000 to refer to rich Western countries. 378 00:23:45.080 --> 00:23:47.840 I think there will also be Middle Eastern countries involved. 379 00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:50.520 I think we should end the era of assuming 380 00:23:50.600 --> 00:23:53.840 that the international powerbrokers are only a small subset 381 00:23:53.840 --> 00:23:55.800 of powerful Western countries. 382 00:23:55.840 --> 00:23:59.600 What we do know is that the Arab Gulf states 383 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:03.680 that usually are tapped to help rebuild Gaza have said, 384 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:06.080 you know, this is not their responsibility 385 00:24:06.080 --> 00:24:10.400 because they have been footing the bill for this kind of destruction 386 00:24:10.439 --> 00:24:15.560 on a lesser scale, but they've been paying 387 00:24:15.560 --> 00:24:17.640 for the rebuilding of Gaza repeatedly. 388 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:22.840 First of all, I think the responsible party for destroying Gaza is Israel, 389 00:24:22.840 --> 00:24:25.560 and it must be held accountable for that. 390 00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:30.560 And second, I think rebuilding Gaza is possible. 391 00:24:30.560 --> 00:24:32.400 We are very resilient people. 392 00:24:32.560 --> 00:24:36.680 And I think Israel must be forced to pay compensation 393 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:40.320 for the unnecessary destruction it has caused. 394 00:24:40.320 --> 00:24:44.160 And the day after Hamas, the international community 395 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:47.720 must ensure that Gaza is rebuilt peacefully 396 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:50.640 and it's rebuilt in a way that ensures that concrete 397 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:55.160 goes to people's houses and not into Hamas terror tunnels. 398 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:58.200 For our reporter Mohammed, every day poses danger 399 00:24:58.320 --> 00:25:00.560 as he would see again on January 7, 400 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:04.200 after filming the Abu Al Naga family�s destroyed chalet. 401 00:25:07.840 --> 00:25:11.800 After we finished filming, I went back to the Kuwait Hospital. 402 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:19.080 When I got there, I found out that the car of my colleagues had been targeted, 403 00:25:19.800 --> 00:25:23.320 the ones who had just been filming the site of the explosion with me. 404 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:29.080 I was surprised by the names of the dead. 405 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:35.000 Among the journalists sitting in that car was Hamza Al-Dahdouh, 406 00:25:35.040 --> 00:25:39.760 son of Al-Jazeera�s bureau chief, and another colleague of mine: 407 00:25:39.760 --> 00:25:41.280 Mustafa Al-Thuraya. 408 00:25:45.280 --> 00:25:48.840 That Al Jazeera journalist was riding in a car with a Hamas terrorist 409 00:25:48.840 --> 00:25:50.520 who was operating a drone. 410 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:54.840 In general, it is a bad idea to hitch rides with terrorists 411 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:56.840 in an active war zone because you might get hurt. 412 00:25:57.080 --> 00:25:58.320 Now, I've seen that figure 413 00:25:58.320 --> 00:26:00.400 of the number of journalists who are killed, 414 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:02.840 and it's important that you take a close look at that list, 415 00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:06.439 because I counted over 20 people who are written 416 00:26:06.439 --> 00:26:09.360 as being Hamas affiliated media. 417 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:12.800 According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 418 00:26:12.800 --> 00:26:16.320 over 80 journalists have been killed in the war to date. 419 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.600 Noone can say when the war in Gaza will end. 420 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.920 The whereabouts of the remaining hostages are still unclear, 421 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:28.560 as their relatives fear for their lives. 422 00:26:28.840 --> 00:26:32.760 In Gaza itself, people are dying every day in Israeli attacks. 423 00:26:32.840 --> 00:26:35.920 1.9 million Palestinians are now displaced there. 424 00:26:36.600 --> 00:26:38.520 According to the World Food Program, 425 00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:42.080 over half the population is threatened by extreme or severe hunger. 426 00:26:42.600 --> 00:26:44.560 Given the scale of the destruction, 427 00:26:44.560 --> 00:26:47.400 the mutual hatred and the immeasurable suffering: 428 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.920 is there any hope of peace in Gaza? 429 00:26:50.040 --> 00:26:53.840 Of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians? 430 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:59.840 I never give up hope that that peace is possible. 431 00:26:59.840 --> 00:27:04.160 This is definitely a dark time to be thinking about, 432 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:08.080 you know, peace talks or some grand solution. 433 00:27:08.080 --> 00:27:10.640 That will come. 434 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:13.680 I mean, you don't make peace between two friends. 435 00:27:13.760 --> 00:27:19.000 It's always two enemies, two opposing parties that make peace. 436 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.840 Maybe after a generation, two generations, 437 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:26.640 we will speak about any kind of coexistence, 438 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:28.400 but not in the coming years. 439 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:31.920 The Israeli military attacks are forcing people 440 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:34.320 in Gaza further south towards the border with Egypt, 441 00:27:34.360 --> 00:27:35.800 which is sealed off. 442 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:38.640 Mohammed is now there too. 443 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.320 After everything we have seen and experienced, 444 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:47.200 there is no future for Gaza. 445 00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:51.280 The destruction is devastating. F 446 00:27:51.760 --> 00:27:54.800 or the first time in my life, I also had to flee. 447 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:00.160 The displaced people I have been filming all have one wish: 448 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:04.640 for the war to end so they can return to their homes in northern Gaza.