JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
As U.S. and Iranian negotiators try to shore up a ceasefire in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, let's hear about the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza. It's been in effect for eight months, yet more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since President Trump declared that the war was over. NPR's Anas Baba reports that nowhere is safe for civilians in Gaza, even in a ceasefire. And a warning - this report includes sounds of gunfire.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: In the heart of Gaza City, in what was once considered an upscale neighborhood called al-Rimal, small signs of everyday life have resumed in the ceasefire, like people gathering at this popular and simple cafe.
MAHMOUD KEHEIL: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: Mahmoud Keheil (ph) says, "this cafe isn't just a place to meet friends but a space to feel normal again." The 24-year-old says that he was stunned when a man sitting just a few tables away was suddenly shot dead. Surveillance footage from this outdoor cafe in al-Rimal shows Khaled al-Masri (ph), a 40-year-old businessman and the father of three, seated with friends, when he suddenly slumps over. His friends jump in panic, confused. Blood is oozing from his head. People at the cafe say al-Masri was shot by a remote-controlled Israeli machine gun mounted on a large crane nearly half a mile away, where Israelis occupies territory. People living closer to the crane say the gun opened fire daily, but bullets rarely travel this far.
Gaza's health ministry says the gunfire that day also tore through a nearby makeshift tent, killing a 19-year-old and wounding others. When asked by NPR, Israel's military did not acknowledge the incident. Israeli forces now occupy nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip. Israeli surveillance and attack drones constantly roam over the sliver of territory where 2 million Palestinians are squeezed.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE FLYING OVERHEAD)
BABA: And as the war's attention was focused on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Israeli forces steadily took over more territory in the Gaza Strip and killed more people last month than any time this year, according to Gaza's health records.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
BABA: Israeli gunfire rings out in Palestinian areas where Israel is pushing deeper.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
BABA: Israel's military acknowledges shooting at people who are within half a mile of its forces, saying they pose a threat to troops. Some of those killed have been children collecting firewood. Other times, it's people unaware of Israel's shifting zone of control, like Baha Abulajeen (ph), once a farmer in Gaza. He was walking along a main road with his son, Ryan (ph), and brother-in-law near their home in central Gaza this month. Suddenly, bullets began flying overhead.
BAHA ABULAJEEN: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: Abulajeen says Israeli forces shot him below the knee and his 5-year-old son, Ryan, in the head. He says four Israeli soldiers then dragged them into a car, ignoring his pleas to help his dying son. Israel's military says soldiers identified several Gazans approaching them, initiated apprehension procedures and opened, quote, "warning fire." The military say it regrets harm to civilians, without elaborating.
ABULAJEEN: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: Abulajeen says he was blindfolded and questioned for around six hours as his son died in his arms. He says Israeli soldiers then released them to an open area of Gaza, where Palestinians could take them to a hospital where his son was pronounced dead. His brother-in-law remains detained.
And this week, four missile strikes targeted a car in Gaza City in broad daylight, sending people running for cover.
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSILES EXPLODING)
BABA: Israel's military says it struck a Hamas militant, but Gaza's health ministry says the only person killed was a 17-year-old girl who had already lost her father in the war. She was struck on her way to find internet access to take final exams for the school year.
Back at the cafe, Keheil says anyone can be killed at any time in Gaza from a bullet, tank fire or missile.
KEHEIL: (Speaking Arabic).
BABA: He says, "there is no safety, whether there is a ceasefire or not." Anas Baba, NPR News, Gaza City.
(SOUNDBITE OF EMOTIONAL ORANGES SONG, "TALK ABOUT US") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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