In Cairo, I meet Emad again, a Xinhua employee who has fled Gaza with his parents, wife, and three children. Once upright and brisk, he now moves with a slight stoop, bearing the invisible yet heavy burden of displacement and an uncertain future.

by Xinhua writer Wang Hao

CAIRO, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Back in the summer of 2005, I was a Xinhua reporter commissioned into the Gaza Strip to cover the implementation of a unilateral disengagement plan by then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Settlements were seen dismantled and thousands of Israelis repatriated from Gaza.

Under a blazing sun, Israeli servicemen escorted crying people reluctant to depart, and others calmly packed their belongings. Before boarding the repatriation buses, some paused to cast one last look at the houses they had lived in for decades. Soon, bulldozers reduced the houses to rubble.

Over the years after the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel set up 21 settlements across Gaza. Dubbed "the father of the settlements," Sharon pursued the 2005 withdrawal as a means to separate Israeli and Palestinian areas and bring peace to Israel.

Following the Israeli withdrawal, Palestinians flooded into the abandoned settlements late at night, lighting bonfires in celebration. All night, the roars of motorcycles and cars mingled with people's cheers, filling the air with jubilant noises. My camera captured the excited faces. "The Palestinian state is closer now, isn't it?!" a young man shouted, waving a Palestinian flag.

Then U.S. President George W. Bush called it "a hopeful story," declaring that "peace is within reach."

Yet, two decades on, that peace has not arrived.

I myself am now an editor at Xinhua's Cairo bureau. I have watched live coverage of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza multiple times in my office this summer. The Gaza of today lies in ruins. Nearly two years into the new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more than 60,000 Palestinian lives have been lost. The United Nations says more than half a million people in Gaza now face famine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to capture Gaza City and crush Hamas. Days ago, he told Israel's i24 TV news that he feels "very attached" to the vision of a "Greater Israel," provoking strong condemnation from regional countries and the rest of the international community.

According to Israeli media, "Greater Israel" has various interpretations, mainly referring to Israel and the territories it has occupied after the 1967 war.

Unlike Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza, Netanyahu has opted for military occupation of the Palestinian enclave. The antithesis coming 20 years apart weighs heavily: in the deadly conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, who truly wins?

In Cairo, I meet Emad again, a Xinhua employee who has fled Gaza with his parents, wife, and three children. Once upright and brisk, he now moves with a slight stoop, bearing the invisible yet heavy burden of displacement and an uncertain future.

Emad's father, now in his seventies, is frail and withdrawn, clutching prayer beads and staring into the distance with a hollow gaze. I once visited his seaside home in Gaza, where we were cheered by the aroma of traditionally flavored roast chicken and the warmth of lively conversation.

Emad's brother remains in Gaza, where water and electricity are scarce, medical supplies limited, and daily bombardments relentless.

His 20-year-old son often asks softly: "Can I still go to university?" The youngest one's frequent question is "When can we go home?" Emad would always smile bitterly, dumb to such questions.

In a span of two decades, I saw both Israel's withdrawal from and intense attacks on Gaza, and recorded the hopes, sufferings and struggles of Palestinian families. There, conflict and confrontation have not ceased, and the yearning for peace also lasts, unabated.