Capturing 24 hours in Gaza, one hour at a time
In the build-up to the one-year anniversary of the Gaza border protests that opened up a deadly new front in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Reuters photographer Dylan Martinez visited Gaza for the first time.
As someone who had never set eyes on Gaza, his assignment was to use those unfamiliar eyes to record life beyond the daily drumbeat of violence in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
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Often, he did not realise what the buildings were because their exteriors gave no sign of what might have been within. Otherwise, Martinez encountered few problems.
"There’s a real sense of being enclosed. You can stand on the beach looking out toward the horizon and see this fantastic sun and crystal blue waters, a sense you are part of the world and there is everything around you.".
"You look to the right, you turn one way, and there is Israel and you can go down this road but in a car it was taking 20 minutes. You look the other way, there is Egypt. You go down the road there, there’s a blockade, you can’t go any further.
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"You look inland, and there in the background as well is the horizon, is Israel. And you can’t go that way.
"So there is always a feeling you can only go so far one way. And the other way. I did feel it. There is a sort of feeling of enclosure."
A boy carries cardboard to burn as he walks through the streets.
A worker prepares metal at a rubbish and recycle centre. Everything is recycled but here they want any kind of metal they can sell-on.
A group of youngsters who call themselves the Gaza Skate Gang hang out at a skate park.
Singer Rahaf Shamali,15, Hamada Nasralla, 23, Ismaiel Al H'Razin, 42, Islam Mohsen, 24. and Saied Fadel of "Solband" pose on the roof of their apartment block.
Saied Fadel, 22, and Hamada Nasrallah, 23, of "Solband" rehearse, as a clown on stilts walks by.
People arrive for prayer at Al Saeed Hashem Mosque. This mosque is the largest and oldest in Gaza.
Football fans and officials pray during half-time match between Rafah and their rivals Beit Hanoun. Gaza seemed evenly split between Real Madrid and Barcelona fans, but local rivalries also run deep, with some matches having to be played on neutral grounds.
Older Gaza residents remember watching Egyptian movies in cinemas during the 1960s, but from the 1980s on, fundamentalist Islamist groups burned down such places of public entertainment and closed liquor shops.
Bedouin jockeys parade their camels during a wedding party. Families hire the camels to entertain guests during the celebrations, which often become a spectacle for the whole neighbourhood.
The Gaza Strip is swathed in beautiful light, and enjoys spectacular sunsets and sunrises. Just 25 miles long and a few miles wide, it is home to nearly 2 million Palestinians, around two-thirds of them refugees.
An Israeli factory is seen in the background as children play. Although Gaza is mostly sealed off from the outside world by walls and fences, Israel is clearly visible from many points, as is Egypt from the south.
A local shop uses a generator for power by the port. Power cuts affect the whole city at one time or another.
Fishermen bring their catch into the port. Gaza's fisherman are often only able to fish a few miles from the coast - the distance varies. Israeli gunboats stop them going farther.
A group of jobless men burn cardboard to warm themselves. The men said they would gladly work for just 5 shekels a day (about $1.35) but there were no jobs. In October 2018 the World Bank said 54 percent of Gaza's workforce is unemployed, including 70 percent of youths.
Furniture is displayed outside a store.
A woman begs outside a shopping mall. Despite widespread poverty seeing anyone beg is rare and I saw nobody sleeping rough.
A man sells cigarettes. The sellers sell individual cigarettes at one shekel apiece, or a little more than 25 U.S. cents. Gaza residents say fewer people can afford them.
Gaza's electricity often goes down, leaving residents relying on generators or solar power. The streets are pretty much empty in the early hours of the morning - but there are still 24-hour convenience stores and bakeries.
People walk through dark streets during the evening.
