Gaza residents suffer in flooded tents as Israel blocks shelters
After 15 months of war and with 70 percent of buildings destroyed, Gaza civilians have nowhere to go – and the situation is worsening.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel agreed to allow 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents inside the Gaza Strip. So far, only 20,000 tents arrived and none of the temporary homes have been allowed into Gaza.
“Tents are flooded with rain and sewerage water. We are soaked in waste water. Our children are getting sick. Those readymade homes would solve some of our many problems,” said Umm Mohammed Selemy, a resident of the Shujayea neighbourhood in northern Gaza, where people are forced to live in the open because Israel’s army destroyed their homes.
Another resident, Abed Alkareem Saida, said temporary housing would make a big difference.
“Tents are not meant for permanent living. They do not protect us from winter cold or rains. Mobile homes would at least have a toilet, and we can keep our children warm inside. They also keep us safe from stray dogs,” he said.
Israeli official admits holding up shelters for Gaza
Hamas has accused Israel of blocking the delivery of housing materials for the tens of thousands of Gazan people forced to shelter from the winter weather among the ruins left by 15 months of Israeli bombardment.
Israel has denied the accusation, but a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet confirmed a quantity of mobile homes are held up at the border.
He said Israel would use “any leverage” it has over Hamas to secure the return of the 33 captives in the first phase of the deal. “Israel has a goal of bringing forward the release of the first phase hostages, certainly the living ones,” Ze’ev Elkin told public broadcaster Kan.
So far, 19 Israeli captives have been returned as well as five Thais, who were handed over in an unscheduled release. Hamas has said 25 of the 33 captives set for release in the first phase are alive.
Trucks carrying mobile homes line up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza
Gaza resident says war exposed Israel as ‘the occupier’ to the world
Palestinian Khadija Hammou, 56, says the 500 days since Israel’s war on Gaza began have felt like “500 years”. “There is no tent to shelter us, no water to drink or bathe in, no means of survival in Gaza,” she said. “Everywhere we go … there is only suffering.”
For Hammou, the war has “revealed to the world that Israel is committing massacres and that our people are the occupied and the oppressed”.
Many people and organizations already knew long before Oct 7, problem is, those with the power to change the situation still support Israel's genocidal colonialism and actively make any solution impossible.
