Stuck in Gaza’s limbo: Palestinians struggle to live amid Israel’s attacks
Near a burned-out car that had been targeted in front of their home, Faiq Ajour stood with other family members cleaning up scattered debris and shattered glass.
Faiq had been on his way to buy a few items from a nearby vegetable stall when the Israeli strike hit on Saturday.
“I survived by a miracle. I had just crossed the street,” he told Al Jazeera. The Palestinian described his shock – and his fear that it was his house that had been hit by the Israeli attack.
That wasn’t the case, and as he ran back towards the scene, he found his family, physically unharmed. But his three young daughters shook with fear, worried that Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza – which was supposed to have been suspended after the introduction of a ceasefire in October – had returned.
Israel has repeatedly attacked Gaza since that ceasefire began, accusing the Palestinian group Hamas of ceasefire violations. Hamas denies that, and Palestinians point out that it is Israel that has used overwhelming force since the ceasefire began, violating it 500 times, and killing more than 342 civilians, including 67 children.
The five killed in Gaza City’s al-Abbas area, where Faiq lives, were among 24 killed on Saturday across the Gaza Strip by Israel.
“This is a nightmare, not a ceasefire,” Faiq said. “In a single moment after some calm, life turns as if it’s a war again.” “You see body parts, smoke, shattered glass, killed people, ambulances. Scenes we still haven’t healed from and that haven’t left our memories.”
Raghda Obeid with three of her children in front of the tent that currently houses them in Gaza City
Powerful storms, floods bring new challenges to Palestinians in Gaza
Israel’s more than two-year genocidal war has forced nearly all of Gaza’s two million people from their homes to live in makeshift tents in displacement camps.
Added to their suffering is the prospect of harsh winter storms and flooding that might see even these temporary shelters, which are unable to withstand harsh conditions, disappear.
Gaza has already been subjected to worsening weather conditions. “Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen strong wind, heavy rainfall and plummeting temperatures here, turning many of the displacement areas here into pools of muddy water,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City.
“We have areas that have been completely submerged by water, areas that were flooded by the heavy rainfall that was mixed with sewage water as well, making it very dangerous for people here.”
These conditions have reduced whole families to scooping muddy water from their tents using only buckets and holding down their tents using other rudimentary tools such as rocks and blocks, in the hopes of protecting the few belongings they have left.
“All the tents are destroyed. Our tents are just made of fabric. Our children are drowning. There’s nothing for us to wear, no clothes to put on,” Assmaa Fayad, a displaced Palestinian, told Al Jazeera.
Saja Fayyad, seven, tries to clear water from her family's flooded tent at a temporary camp for displaced Palestinians after heavy rainfall in Deir el-Balah, the central Gaza Strip, on November 25
‘Siege policy’
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement issued a statement, condemning the lack of supplies to help Palestinians as winter approaches.
“The suffering of our people in Gaza, especially the displaced, has worsened amid the cold and rainy weather. The flooding of the displaced persons’ tents is a direct result of the Zionist [Israeli] siege policy and the prevention of the entry of basic necessities, all while the world remains silent”.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement also called on the international community to “take immediate action and pressure the Zionist enemy to open the crossings and allow the entry of aid and essential supplies”.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem wrote a message on Telegram: “All the world’s efforts to alleviate the disaster have failed because of the Israeli siege.”
The sunny and dry weather conditions on Wednesday provide little relief, said Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud, as “a lot of people worry that by the evening, winds will pick up again”.
