Little hope in Gaza ruins a year after devastating war

Gaza city

In the ruins of what used to be his home, Gaza Strip resident Rabah Abu Shanab reflects on what used to be and what little hope remains.

"We were doing better a year ago," the 57-year-old said while sitting on a plastic chair in his living room, now just concrete slabs and twisted iron bars. "The whole world was paying attention to Gaza, but today nobody cares."

This week marks one year since Israel's devastating war with Palestinian militants in Gaza, and despite a tacit ceasefire that has largely held, there has been little reason for residents caught up in the conflict to believe their suffering will soon end. Thousands of homes destroyed by Israeli strikes are yet to be rebuilt, a strict Israeli blockade and tightly controlled borders have added to Gazans' misery and the risk of yet another conflict remains a threat.

On top of that, internal tensions have seen Salafist extremists in Gaza challenge Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the territory, angry over its ceasefire with Israel and what they see as its lack of zeal in enforcing Islamic law. Jihadists and not Hamas  have claimed credit for recent rocket fire into Israel.

They have claimed links to the Islamic State group, and whether or not there is any truth to such statements, their emergence has further complicated the task of setting Gaza on a path to recovery.