CAIRO, Jan 1 (NNN-MENA) – “This new year, we pray for peace in Gaza,” Bassem Medhat, a Palestinian refugee, who fled the war-torn enclave, voiced the sentiments of thousands now seeking refuge in Egypt.
Medhat, 59 years old, was once a successful restaurateur in Gaza. Now he runs a modest eatery in the heart of Cairo, where the smell of spices and the familiar taste of home, offer many of his fellow Palestinians in Cairo a comforting refuge.
Forced to abandon his thriving businesses, comfortable villa, and cars, Medhat arrived in Egypt in March, last year, with his wife and seven children.
“We left everything behind,” he said in a sad tone. “But we did not lose our hope. This year, we pray for an end to the fighting, for the chance to go back to Gaza and rebuild our lives.”
The Israeli regime has been conducting a large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip, to retaliate against a rampage led by Hamas through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023. According to the Gaza-based health authorities, since the outbreak of the conflict, the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing barbaric Israeli attacks on Gaza has topped 45,000.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of Palestinians arriving from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, since Oct 7, 2023, has reached more than 100,000, in addition to thousands of others who were already in Egypt before the war began.
The whispers of a possible ceasefire have infused the Palestinian community in Cairo with a renewed sense of optimism. Medhat, like many others, clings to the possibility of return, envisioning a Gaza where his children can grow up safe, where the sounds of laughter replace the rumbling of bombs.
“We dream of a Gaza where our children can have a normal childhood,” he said. “A Gaza where they can go to school without fear, where they can play in the streets without the threat of bombs.”
The hopes of Medhat, and thousands of other Palestinians in Egypt, are entangled with the fate of their homeland.
Heba Hashim, a young Palestinian woman, studying medicine in Cairo, shared this longing for a peaceful future. While grateful for the safety she has found in Egypt, her heart aches for her family and friends, who are still trapped in Gaza.
“Everyday, I worry about them,” she said, her voice strained. “The news from Gaza is devastating. But I have hope that, this year will be different. This year, we will see peace return to Gaza.”
Heba, who was in Egypt before the war started, dreams of using her medical skills to heal the wounds of war, to contribute to the rebuilding of her homeland.
The young lady hoped to see a Gaza where “hospitals are for patients, not war victims.”
“I want to be part of the solution,” she said with determination. “I want to help rebuild Gaza, to create a better future for our people. This year, I hope to see that dream become a reality.”– NNN-MENA
