- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
Rebuild or resist? Hamas's dilemma year after Gaza war
A year after its devastating war with Israel, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is faced with a dilemma: to keep up the armed struggle or to lay low and reconstruct the Gaza Strip?
On May 10, 2021, weeks of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem culminated in all-out conflict.
A barrage of rockets was fired from the Gaza Strip, with some projectiles hitting Israeli cities, the rest intercepted. That same evening, the Israeli air force pounded Gaza.
What followed was 11 days of war that levelled parts of Gaza, killing 260 Palestinians, including many fighters and children. Fourteen died in Israel, including a soldier and two minors.
More than 1,000 housing units and buildings in Gaza were damaged or completely destroyed by the Israeli bombardment.
But a year later, the reconstruction effort has barely taken off.
Gaza City's destroyed towers have not been rebuilt, and many roads are still in dire need of repair.
"By the middle of this year we should have completed the reconstruction of 500 houses," Naji Sarhan, undersecretary of Gaza's public works ministry, told AFP.
"Our priority is to rebuild the apartments of low-income families", said Sarhan, whose ministry is under Hamas control.
He said reconstruction aid was provided by Egypt and Qatar, the two Arab countries which mediated the truce between Hamas and Israel.
- Hamas 'divided' -
With no political solution on offer, Israel has been working to reduce tensions by easing economic restrictions on Gaza, where unemployment is running at around 50 percent.
The number of permits for Gazans to work in Israel was increased to 12,000 in early April, with Israel promising 20,000 or more if the situation remains calm.
This offer poses a dilemma for Hamas, which in recent weeks has applauded six deadly anti-Israeli attacks and threatened a "big battle" if Israel continues its "aggression" against Palestinian worshippers in Al-Aqsa.
Hamas also invited the leader of the Revolutionary Guards of Israel's arch-enemy Iran, Hossein Salami, to speak by videoconference at a stadium in Gaza City.
"Hamas is divided. The leadership in Gaza is trying to avoid further escalation and is encouraged by the decision of the current Israeli government to give more to Gaza as long as Gaza remains quiet," said Middle East expert Ofer Zalzberg from the Herbert C. Kelman Institute.
"But there are also Hamas leaders outside Gaza, like Saleh al-Arouri, who think more in terms of ideology and believe that the strategy should not focus on Gaza," he said.
For Palestinian economist Omar Shaban, the reconstruction and development of Gaza cannot depend alone on donations from foreign countries or work permits granted by Israel.
"We need a real political process... which will raise the question of the recognition of the entity that administers Gaza", he said, referring to Hamas, which is branded a "terrorist" organisation by the United States, EU and Israel.
"Without that, there will be no change," Shaban told AFP.
A.Malone--AMWN