Gazans, Desiring Deep Change, Are Ambivalent on Egypt Cease-Fire Plan

From The New York Times:

Israel occupied Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War and controls its borders, airspace and seas even now, nearly nine years after pulling out its settlers and troops. Since then, tough restrictions have effectively amounted to a blockade, reducing imports and exports to a trickle and preventing all but a few Gazans from leaving. Short but devastating wars deepen the misery.

Many Gazans say they are torn between desperately wanting an end to the current round of bombings, which have killed nearly 200 Palestinians here, including almost 40 children, and a growing conviction that they cannot return to the way things once were. Even Hamas’s many opponents here generally support its demands that Israel release prisoners, and along with Egypt, lift border restrictions that have gutted a weak economy.

 

Many Gazans oppose Hamas but are powerless against its arms, ... and while differences are forgotten under Israeli fire, people want change and peace, even if it means compromise.