Our Correspondent is Finally Allowed into Gaza

0:00Today on State of the World, our correspondent is finally allowed into Gaza. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close, where they're happening. It's Wednesday, November 5th. I'm Greg Dixon. After numerous requests and denials during the two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, finally, the Israeli military allowed NPR's correspondent Daniel Estrin into Gaza. NPR does have a reporter who lives in Gaza and works closely with Daniel. But this was Daniel's first opportunity to see the destruction from this conflict he's been covering for so long for himself.

0:43And seeing the devastation up close was shocking. He and a group of journalists were taken to the dividing line between the part of Gaza occupied by Israel and the other half controlled by Hamas. Israel prohibits journalists from entering Gaza independently. It only allows brief visits for select journalists escorted by soldiers. And as part of the conditions for this visit, NPR submitted the audio and video recorded to Israel's military censor. None of the content of this report was altered. Here's Daniel's account of his brief visit into Gaza. It's nearly a month since the Gaza war ended, and I'm in an Israeli military vehicle with a group of journalists driving into Gaza.

1:28Before the war, anyone going in and out of Gaza walked through airport-style metal detectors and a maze of gates. None of that is here now. So we've driven right through the Israeli fence. There are a couple of Israeli military jeeps behind us. It takes only minutes to reach a military outpost close to the Yellow Line, the spot in Gaza where Israeli troops pulled back to when the war ended. Now we're walking through a small Israeli base.

2:00A soldier with a hat on, shaving. Another soldier just come out of the shower with his underwear on, a towel over his shoulder. One soldier's wearing a T-shirt in English that says Hamas Hunting Club. Another speaks about his wife looking after their six children back home in Israel. And aside from their chatter, it's utterly quiet in this place once known as one of the most densely populated in the world. Now we're climbing up. I climb up to the top of a tall dirt berm where Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani gives an overview and I catch my first glimpse of the outskirts of Gaza City.

2:38Wow. Oh my gosh. I'll give a quick explanation. As you're seeing in front of you is the battlefield of Sajayia. To the left is Gaza City. I feel like my heart sank just climbing up to the top of this mound of dirt, looking at this expanse of destruction. I'm looking at the tall high-rise buildings of Gaza City that are still standing in the distance. But around it, piles of cement, bombed-out schools and homes. It's quiet. except for the chatter of Israeli soldiers behind me.

3:26I barely see any shrubbery or any trees, just vast expanses of crumpled cement homes and cement beams sticking out of the dirt like tall tombstones. The war is over, but Palestinians aren't allowed to return to live in this half of Gaza, where Israeli troops are stationed. The troops are active, finding and destroying parts of Hamas tunnels. And Hamas is active too, regrouping and consolidating its control of its half of Gaza, where Palestinians live. The body of American-Israeli hostage Itai Chen was recovered from this part of Gaza Tuesday. Once Hamas finishes handing over the remains of Israel's dead hostages, the U.S.

4:13plan is for a multinational peacekeeping force to deploy in Gaza and for Hamas to disarm. Only then will Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza, says military spokesman Shoshani. We would be glad for that to happen immediately and as soon as possible, but we are ready to operate here to protect our civilians as long as that's not happening. This is the most uncertain moment of the ceasefire. Will these next steps proceed as planned? If not, is the alternative a return to war? And is this temporary division of Gaza into two? the new status quo. The Israeli military has been occupying the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory, for more than 50 years.

4:53Shoshani says the military is prepared to remain in Gaza for a long time. At the edge of this devastation, this Israeli military outpost has a tall cell phone tower, electricity poles, fortified walls. We built the infrastructure here to be suitable for troops, to have normal conditions of staying here for a prolonged time. Our time here depends on how fast the stages of the agreement move forward. For years before the war, I would enter Gaza every few months to report for NPR. I remember driving through the bustling streets of the Shazia neighborhood on my way to the center of Gaza City. During the war, it was the site of fierce battles.

5:33I've seen the photos of the destruction on my phone, my computer screen. but to stand before that monochrome wasteland and watch it go on and on. And this is as far as I'm allowed to go. The war is over, but Israel still does not allow journalists to enter Gaza independently to report firsthand how life there has been rendered unlivable. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Gaza.

6:09That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.