The new year dawns amid the rubble and determination in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain uprooted, many living in makeshift tents pitched on bare ground or squeezed into damaged buildings without reliable access to water, electricity, healthcare or sanitation.

Winter rains have compounded the hardships, flooding shelters and turning camp paths into heavy mud.

Fragile hope

But amid the devastation, displaced families say the arrival of a new year has rekindled fragile hopes for stability, security and a chance to rebuild lives interrupted by conflict.

Standing in front of her tent, Umm Rabee’ Al-Malash called for more international engagement.

“The Palestinian people must be supported as they have endured tremendous suffering,” she told our correspondent. “Help us rebuild the Gaza Strip, establish peace and give us a state where we can live in peace and security.”

Falling behind

For parents, the toll on children is one of the deepest scars of the war. Schools across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, while thousands of young people have missed months of education.

Wafaa Al-Khawaja expressed her fears for the next generation. “I wish that just as the rest of the world lives, we could live the same way.

“Our children today have no education or anything else,” she said, describing the days spent struggling to find food, water and warmth.

In northern Gaza, displacement has cut off families from homes and livelihoods built over decades.

Turn back the clock

Kamal Abu Hsheish, originally from Jabalia camp, said his only wish is to return to the life he knew before the war. For now, the daily reality in the camps continues to impose severe humanitarian conditions on thousands of families.

Aid agencies warn that relief efforts are facing increasing challenges, including damaged infrastructure, limited access and the sheer scale of the need.

Reconstruction, they say, will require sustained international commitment as soon as conditions allow, so that the Gaza peace deal can proceed to the next phase.

As the displaced people of Gaza mark the start of a new year – with no return to their old lives in sight – hope remains tied for an end to the violence and meaningful political progress on the 20-point plan that brokered the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in early October.

Until then, families wait, enduring loss and uncertainty while holding on to the belief that the coming months can finally bring safety, dignity and the ability to go home and rebuild.