This is not living, it is execution’
Displaced Palestinian Saed Na’im expressed scepticism over talk of peace and proposed development plans for Gaza in light of the Board of Peace summit in Davos.
“We hear about peace, but we don’t really know. We can’t see or feel anything tangible, and we don’t know when it will happen,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The situation is terrible tents in winter with freezing cold. A few days ago, nine children died from the cold. What are these tents? If it were for three months, people could endure it. But it’s been years and more years to come. This is not living, it’s execution.”
A displaced Palestinian man lights a fire near his family’s makeshift tent, near an area marked as ‘Yellow Line’ by the Israeli military, in east of Gaza City
UN says 230,000 women, girls face health service crisis
More than 230,000 girls and women, including nearly 15,000 pregnant women, in Gaza are facing limited access to reproductive health services because of Israeli military operations despite a ceasefire deal, the UN has said.
The spokesperson for the UN chief cited the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which warned that “there is an increased risk of gender-based violence, child marriage, and exploitation of women and girls”.
Stephane Dujarric added that damage to health facilities, safe spaces and clinics, combined with displacement and flooding, has “sharply limited access to psychosocial support and medical care”.
Families in Gaza struggle to survive as they burn plastic for heat and cooking
For Sanaa Salah, who lives in a tent with her husband and six kids, starting a fire is a critical daily chore to cook and stay warm.
Her family has barely enough clothes to keep warm. She said the family cannot afford to buy firewood or gas, and that they are aware of the dangers of burning plastic but have no other choice.
“Life is very hard,” she said as her family members threw plastic and paper into a fire to keep it burning. “We cannot even have a cup of tea. “This is our life. We do not sleep at night due to the cold.”
Another Gaza resident, Aziz Akel, said firewood was too expensive. His family has no income, and they could not pay the seven or eight shekels (about $2.5) it would cost.
“My house is gone, and my kids were wounded,” he said. His daughter, Lina Akel, said he leaves the family’s tent early each morning to look for plastic in the rubbish to burn.
