Despair and frustration is mounting in the impoverished Gaza Strip, one year after the Israeli military offensive in Gaza ended with more than 1,400 Palestinians killed and thousands of buildings destroyed.

The general mood of the Gaza population has become down as nothing positive has moved to end their suffering as the result of the massive Israeli offensive as well as a 3-year Israeli blockade.

Reconstruction of Gaza was delayed, inter-Palestinian reconciliation was stalled and the peace negotiations with Israel see no progress. All these created the status of frustration and despair.

During the war, the Israeli army killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, and injured about 5,000, in addition to destroying the commercial and economical infrastructure and thousands of houses.

"Such a situation has caused deterioration in the daily living conditions, where thousands of families became homeless," said Joma'a, 46 years old, as he stood near his destroyed grocery store where he was taking care of a family of eight members.

Joma'a has joined the army of the unemployed Palestinians, where he became depending on humanitarian support that he started to receive from local charity organizations.

Palestinian officials said that thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lost their income and homes, and become waiting for food packages and rounds of employment.

"It doesn't matter if I live in a house that is partially destroyed and the other is hosting me and my family," Joma'a said, adding "the most important is to get a job that I can survive until the process of Gaza Strip construction begins. Palestinians hope that the blockade would be lifted and reconstruction starts."

Joma'a is trying to build a new simple grocery store and supply it with the needed kinds of products. He has borrowed some money. But he said he is still afraid of a new Israel war on Gaza.

"The occupation is really a nightmare that the whole world must be united in order to end it," said Joma'a, warning that any coming war "would destroyed what had remained in the Gaza Strip.

"How can they live in peace while they kill and destroy everyday and don't help to create any status of calm?" he asked.

Joma'a said that Gaza people are living in a status of uncertainty due to the continuation of the Israeli threats to carry out new raids to stop launching homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel.

"These rockets are weak and not so powerful, it can never be compared with the heaviness of the Israeli military action," said Joma'a, adding that the continuation of the occupation is the main reason for violence, and the main reason for the action and the reaction.

Most of Gazans' living depends on agriculture, commerce and local weak industry as a basic source for income.

After the Gaza war, Israel has not stopped daily incursions and air strikes on the edges of the Gaza Strip, mainly targeting the smuggling tunnels under the borderline between the enclave and Egypt.

"Gaza vendors have become so despaired and frustrated due to the status of siege and blockade," said William Sattoum, a 33-year-old shoe store owner in downtown Gaza City.

He said the owners of smuggling tunnels are using the small vendors by selling them goods with expensive prices. Most of the goods are brought into the Gaza Strip via the tunnels.

Sattoum said all the industrial sectors were badly affected after the Israeli war, adding that the purchase power of the people was badly damaged and the losses of the commercial sector are higher than expected.

(Xinhua News Agency December 3, 2009)