Feature: Gazans obtain food, fuel thanks to temporary cease-fire

GAZA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Mohammed Zourob, a Rafah-based Palestinian man, has finally obtained some cooking gas for his family and some fuel for his vehicle after a long wait during the temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

"It was not easy. I had waited for more than 13 hours in a long queue to pump 20 liters of fuel in my car, while I had waited about eight hours to fill up my 12-kilogram cylinder," the 45-year-old father of three told Xinhua.

For many weeks, he was forced to use donkey carts to move from one place to another, and his wife had to cook on firewood due to a lack of cooking gas.

Samiha al-Batsh, a Jabalia-based Palestinian woman, has received wheat flour, cooking oil, rice, and some other humanitarian aid for the first time since the outbreak of the deadly conflict on Oct. 7.

The 46-year-old woman told Xinhua that she lost tens of her family members due to Israeli attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp.

"We did not think about the food. We only think about how we can escape from death," she said, adding, "I prayed a lot to get some rest from the escalation."

Israel and Hamas reached a four-day humanitarian cease-fire starting on Friday under mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States after more than six weeks of bloody conflict in Gaza.

Based on the truce agreement, Hamas will free some hostages in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, while Israel will allow more aid trucks loaded with food, fuel, and cooking gas to enter the war-ridden enclave.

As of Sunday, Hamas had handed over 58 hostages, including Israelis and civilians of other nationalities, to the International Committee of the Red Cross, while Israel released 117 Palestinian detainees.

Since Friday, more than 500 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including food, medical equipment and water, as well as fuel and cooking gas, have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing, according to the United Nations reports.

"We need such humanitarian aid, but we also need security. We hope the international community could pressure Israel to stop the conflict against us in Gaza," Mohammed Afana, a Beit Lahia-based Palestinian man, told Xinhua.

Afana lost four of his brothers and six other relatives in Israeli strikes. "We were not involved in any military activities, but we paid the price for the escalation," he said.

"We don't want the current conflict to continue anymore, and we want to rearrange our lives," Afana stressed.

The weeks-long Israeli bombardment in Gaza has led to the deaths of over 14,000 Palestinians, 40 percent of them children, while thousands remain missing, believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of the destroyed buildings, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, according to Israeli figures, about 1,200 people were killed, mainly in the initial Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered this deadly conflict.