The North Sinai city of al-Arish is affected by the current war on Gaza in various forms, being located only kilometres away from the war-torn Palestinian territory.
AL-ARISH – Nut seller, Moamen Abdel Baqi, has not sold any of the drinks he put on display in his shop’s beverage cooler for weeks now.
Nonetheless, he feels contented with this boycott of the same drinks by his customers in this busy market at the centre of al-Arish, one of several cities in North Sinai, the very Egyptian governorate that sits only kilometres away from the Gaza Strip.
“People come to ask about local brands,” Abdel Baqi, 30, told The Egyptian Gazette. “The war has caused a shift in people’s preferences.”
The drop in the sales of Abdel Baqi’s shop, part of a nationwide boycott of products deemed by the members of the general public to be produced by companies that offer support to Israel, has little afflicted him.
As a resident of al-Arish, he is most tormented by the psychological pains the war raging on in Gaza, a few kilometres away, has brought him.
The war in Gaza is bringing gloom and worry to people in al-Arish, the Egyptian urban centre nearest to Gaza. People in this Egyptian city, which is part of North Sinai Governorate, say they feel disappointed at the toll the war is having on the people of Gaza and the infrastructure of the city.
Security conditions are improving noticeably in al-Arish, life is returning to normal and commercial activities are beginning to thrive, thanks to these improving security conditions.
Nevertheless, Israeli attacks on the neighbouring Palestinian territory are sending worry and psychological suffering to the streets, the homes and the markets of this city.
Al-Arish, a city of around 200,000 people, is now a logistical hub for the reception and the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. The city’s airport has so far received dozens of planes that are bringing hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian and relief aid from other countries as Egypt rallies the international community behind the need to support the blockaded Palestinian territory.
Hundreds of Gaza’s injured victims are now also receiving medical treatment at the hospitals of North Sinai, including at al-Arish General Hospital, the largest medical facility in this city.
Those receiving treatment are also allowed to stay in the city until they decide to return voluntarily to Gaza. In a way, this brings the war in Gaza to the heart of the city’s life.
On the streets, coffee shops and markets of al-Arish, the war in Gaza is the main fodder of conversations between ordinary people.
“People have nothing else to talk about, seeing all the enormity of death only kilometres away,” fishmonger Salem Nour Eddin told . “You cannot neglect the suffering of people living that close to you.”
Proximity between North Sinai and Gaza has been socially playing out for decades now, having created deep family and tribal bonds between the two sides.
Some of the extended tribes and families of North Sinai have their other parts and members in Gaza.
Some of the residents of North Sinai are married to people in Gaza and vice versa, giving a social aspect to the current war in the Palestinian territory.
This is probably why people in al-Arish and other parts of North Sinai say they are ready to participate in any relief effort that serves Gaza.
Hundreds of North Sinai junior residents volunteer now within the ranks of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, the Egyptian organization responsible for coordinating the delivery of most humanitarian and relief aid from Egypt to Gaza.
Other people who have not volunteered say they are ready to participate in any effort for aiding Gaza, including Abdel Baqi, the nut seller. He said he and his neighbours have been searching for local NGOs that donate food and other necessities for the people of Gaza to contribute money to them.
“We are ready to offer whatever support needed for the people of Gaza,” Abdel Baqi said. “The war on this part of Palestine is different this time, given the very ferocious nature of Israeli attacks.”
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