People in Gaza dig through garbage for things to burn to keep warm — a
far cry from Trump's vision
[January 23, 2026]
By TOQA EZZIDIN and JULIA FRANKEL
CAIRO (AP) — Desperate Palestinians at a garbage dump in a Gaza
neighborhood dug with their bare hands for plastic items to burn to fend
off the cold and damp winter in the enclave, battered by two years of
the Israel-Hamas war.
The scene in the Muwasi area of the city of Khan Younis contrasted
starkly with the vision of the territory projected by world leaders
gathered in Davos, Switzerland, where they inaugurated U.S. President
Donald Trump's Board of Peace that will oversee Gaza.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed that “record levels”
of humanitarian aid had entered Gaza since the October start of a
U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. His son-in law, Jared Kushner, and envoy
Steve Witkoff triumphantly touted the devastated territory's development
potential.
Palestinians doubt that Board of Peace will end misery
In Gaza, months into the truce, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
still languish in displacement camps, sheltering in tents and
war-ravaged buildings, unable to protect them from the chilly nighttime
temperatures.
Despite the ceasefire, there are still recurring deadly strikes. Israeli
tank shelling on Thursday killed four Palestinians east of Gaza City,
according to Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of the Shifa Hospital, where
the bodies were taken. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Some in Gaza expressed skepticism about Trump's Board of Peace and
whether it will change their grim lives.
“This committee includes Israelis. I don’t understand, as citizens, how
can we understand this situation?" Rami Ghalban, who was displaced from
Khan Younis, said Thursday. “The Israelis that inflicted suffering upon
us.”
But grappling with what’s ahead seemed futile for others.
“We are in a position where there are no alternatives,” said Fathi Abu
Sultan. “Our situation is miserable.”
Aid flow into Gaza has significantly increased since the ceasefire, but
residents say fuel and firewood are in short supply. Prices are
exorbitant and searching for firewood is dangerous. Two 13-year-old boys
were shot and killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday as they tried to
collect firewood, hospital officials said.
United Nations partners managing displacement camps say they now are
able to provide support to about 40% of the existing 970 sites across
the Gaza Strip because of capacity and funding constraints, U.N.
spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
They continue to distribute tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, blankets,
warm clothes, cooking utensils as well as solar lights, Dujarric said.
Survival in Gaza means digging through garbage
For Sanaa Salah, who lives in a tent with her husband and six kids,
starting a fire is a critical daily chore so they can cook and keep
warm. Her family has barely has enough clothes to keep them warm.
She said the family cannot afford to buy firewood or gas, and that they
are aware of the dangers of burning plastic but have no other choice.
“Life is very hard,” she said as her family members threw plastic and
paper into a fire to keep it burning. “We cannot even have a cup of
tea."
“This is our life,” she said. “We do not sleep at night from the cold.”
Firewood is too expensive, said Aziz Akel. His family has no income and
they can't pay the 7 or 8 shekels (about $2.5) it would cost.
“My house is gone and my kids were wounded," he said.
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A Palestinian man walks past a wedding dress displayed on a street
next to a bridal shop in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday,
Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
His daughter, Lina Akel, said he leaves the family’s tent early each
morning to look for plastic in the garbage to burn — “the basics of
life.”
Deaths of 3 Palestinian journalists adds to grim toll
Dozens of Palestinians gathered Thursday to mourn three Palestinian
journalists — including a frequent contributor to Agence France-Presse —
killed the day before when an Israeli strike hit their vehicle,
according to Gaza health officials.
The Israeli military said the strike came after it spotted suspects who
were operating a drone that posed a threat to its troops.
The journalists were filming near a displacement camp in central Gaza,
managed by an Egyptian government committee, said Mohammed Mansour, the
committee’s spokesperson.
One of them, Abdul Raouf Shaat, a regular contributor to AFP, was not on
assignment for the news agency at the time, it said. A statement from
AFP demanded a full investigation.
Mourners wept over the journalists’ bodies, which were in body bags and
had press vests placed on their chests.
News organizations rely largely on Palestinian journalists and residents
in Gaza to show what is happening on the ground because Israel has
barred international journalists from entering to cover the war, aside
from rare guided tours.
More than 470 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the
ceasefire began in October, according to Gaza’s health ministry. At
least 77 have been killed by Israeli gunfire near a ceasefire line that
splits the territory between Israeli-held areas and most of Gaza’s
Palestinian population, the ministry says.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains
detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N.
agencies and independent experts.
Opening of key border crossing is one next steps in Gaza
While Trump tries to build support for his Board of Peace by mapping out
a future for Gaza, more details about what’s ahead emerged Thursday.
Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza,
said the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week on
the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel said in early December it would open the
Gaza side of the crossing but has yet to do so.
Reopening the crossing would make it easier for Palestinians in Gaza to
seek medical treatment or visit family in Egypt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to send $1 billion to the Board
of Peace for humanitarian purposes in Gaza if the U.S. unblocks the
money. He met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow.
“We believe that only forming and proper functioning of the Palestinian
state can lead to a final settlement of the Middle East conflict,” Putin
said.
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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.
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