Frontlines: Inside Gaza the Day of a Deal

NewsNation National Correspondent Robert Sherman has found himself on the frontlines of some of the world’s biggest stories: from Ukraine to Israel and across the United States. He shares what he’s seeing on the ground. Subscribe to his newsletter: Frontlines with Robert Sherman here.

(NewsNation) —With the loud clank of a reinforced steel door shutting and the low hum of Led Zeppelin on the stereo, we set off Wednesday morning in our armored vehicle from our load-up point in Israel toward southern Gaza.

Minutes later, the crossing point came into our vision. With a quick wave to the IDF troops standing by, we rolled past and into the dusty air of Gaza. Little did I know at the time we were hours away from a historic deal that would release hostages held by Hamas and end, at least for now, two years of fighting. 

It was my first time in the enclave in over a year, despite our best efforts. It’s hard to get access to Gaza amid the war and typically requires full coordination with the IDF.

This time, however, our destination was the so-called “Saudi Neighborhood” aid site, one of four that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operates. NewsNation was the first network to see this particular aid site firsthand, which isn’t far from Rafah and Khan Younis. As such, we embedded with the group directly and were the only network on the ground. 

A quick disclaimer: due to the threat of Hamas and their long-documented history of hijacking aid as a means of exerting control in the enclave, the GHF asked us to blur the faces and omit the names of everyone we spoke with to protect them from retaliation.

WATCH: Inside a GHF Aid Site

The road to get there was strikingly modern and well-paved, reminiscent of what I’m accustomed to in the United States.

The roadway could not have contrasted more with the skyline. I was taken aback by just how much of southern Gaza was turned to rubble.

I’ve written before about how I wish I had seen Gaza with my own eyes before the war broke out, because my only firsthand perception of the place is one of bombed-out buildings and cast aside debris.

The focus of our assignment was the aid distribution effort in Gaza. It won’t take much searching to find a lengthy article list lobbing criticisms at the GHF. American-run and Israel-backed NGOs and even American allies have contended the group is inefficient, poorly staffed and incapable of handling aid distribution safely. 

The U.N. this month re-upped its boycott of working with the group to bring aid into Gaza.

“Now and again, you hear that we’re in a conversation about putting U.N. supplies through GHF or other mechanisms like it, and that’s not a conversation that we’ve been having,” U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on September 15.

All I knew was from what I had read and heard, not what I had seen firsthand. That was about to change.

WATCH: Young Gazan says “I hate Hamas so much”

We arrived on-site, where I saw thousands of Gazan women and children lined up in snaking queues that weaved around an open dusty space. There were tables set up with goods that they could stuff their bags with. Potatoes and onions are the hot commodities these days. Simple things, until you realize they’re the difference between a whole family eating or not. 

One by one, they filed through, took their goods and left while giving a passing wave to our crew. There are “regulars” whom the aid workers now know well, typically greeting each other with an embrace. They come every day, some from far and wide.

“This is the only aid we have access to,” one Gazan woman told us through a translator, adding that she typically walks two hours every day for the food.

The Gaza Strip itself is not a large place geographically, but you can find yourself in different worlds just a mile or two apart. In southern Gaza, where we were, that was the place where food access was much better. In the north, however, where the area is not fully secured, food can be much more difficult to come by. 

“These are desperate, hungry people telling us they rely on our boxes to survive,” said Chapin Fay with the GHF. Fay explained demand is on the rise as more people have been relocating south in recent weeks due to the dynamic nature of the war. He acknowledged they would like to operate in the north and open more aid sites, but right now, that’s not possible.

WATCH: Entering Gaza in an armored vehicle

The GHF is new after Israel gave UNRWA the boot when it came to light some of their employees allegedly participated in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The American-run GHF started operations earlier this year and claims to have delivered over 183 million meals already. 

“We are the only aid organization in Gaza able to deliver aid effectively, safely and at scale,” Fay said.

While the swirling narrative around the aid sites was one of chaos, pandemonium and danger, I didn’t personally see anything like that at the “Saudi Neighborhood” site. Admittedly, I only saw it for a day, but it appeared to be rather orderly and contained, considering we’re talking about hungry people getting their hands on food. 

There were private security contractors on site, and one I spoke with served in the United States Marines. Fluent in Arabic, I watched him walk around, hugging the children who came up to him or giving them high fives. 

It’s not just Americans working at these sites. The GHF has local Palestinian aid workers helping to facilitate and hand out aid. For humanitarian work, it can be a dangerous job. One man there said he had to constantly keep moving his family to protect them because Hamas put a bounty on his head. 

“Hamas is a bunch of criminals,” he said sternly. “They didn’t think of our people’s needs for 17 years.” I was surprised by his open condemnation of the group, as speaking ill of Hamas historically puts one’s life at risk. 

Make no mistake about it, however, that man was no fan of Israel’s actions in the war either, particularly when it came to the burden placed on his fellow Gazans.

“Gazans are getting killed by criminals on both sides, the IDF and Hamas,” he said.

This was a common narrative I found in the hours leading up to the deal. Nobody articulated that sentiment more than the younger Gazans, who appeared to be the least afraid to speak their mind. After being swarmed by children asking for chocolates and bracelets to trade, the teenagers and young adults joined the fray and told us how they felt. 

“I hate Hamas and I hate Israel because of the damage in Gaza,” one young Gazan woman said in English.

“Yes, we hate Hamas and Israel,” another young woman chimed in, reaffirming her fellow Gazan’s stance. “I hate Hamas so much. They take my dreams (sic).” 

That woman told me her dream was to visit America, ticking off her favorite cities: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. She didn’t think that was possible now, even if the war were to end. 

At the time of that conversation, the Gazans there were well aware of the fact that high-level negotiations were taking place in Egypt to secure phase one of the peace deal, which would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Sure enough, it was mere hours after I left Gaza that day the deal came through. On Wednesday, the two sides said hostages held by Hamas could be released Monday, and President Trump is planning a weekend trip to Israel.

There are still plenty of questions regarding what lies ahead. While celebrations are now taking place in Israel or Gaza, negotiations are still to be had regarding the phase two portion of this deal: Governance, demilitarization of Hamas. In essence, turning this ceasefire and present peace into a long-term one. 

One elderly Gazan woman told me she prays that’s the outcome.

“Enough with the war. Enough with the death. Enough with the fear. We just want to live a normal life.”

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.