Hamas Emerges Buoyant Despite Bloodshed and Devastation in Gaza

By JODI RUDOREN, NYT
SEPT. 3, 2014

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — Ismail Haniya, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, worked the crowd in what used to be the Boura neighborhood of this battered northern border town, kissing the cheeks of elders and the foreheads of masked fighters. He waved at the women standing in front of makeshift huts next to the homes flattened in Israeli attacks, as children watched from atop concrete piles where green Hamas flags were planted as though on conquered lands.

“These buildings were the gates to the victory,” Mr. Haniya told one resident during the tour Tuesday afternoon.

More than a week after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement halted 50 days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, little has changed on the ground. Electricity is still scarce, residents have to line up to collect clean water, and there is no word when the promised materials for reconstruction might arrive, in what quantities and under whose supervision.

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