Dear S.,
Hope you are doing well!
Thanks for you message, your kindness and support to the Palestinian in such horrific times!
My name is H., I live in Gaza with M. my husband and two kids, Y. an eight years old girl and K. a six years old boy beside Mesho a six month old kitten. My husband and I are working for more than 15 years in international humanitarian non-governmental organizations. Y. is in the third grade and K. is in the first grade, they both go to a private school. They spend 7 hours in school, and we spend 8 hours at work. The school bus takes them in the morning and then drop them at my family home till we finish work, pass by my family home to take them, have lunch, help them in studying and doing their homework. Watch T.V, or spend our time on mobile, or hanging out by our car to enjoy drinking fresh juice or coffee (or coffee latte which I like) or eating pan cake which Y. pick or crepe that K. like. Then go home to get ready for sleep. On Thursday of each week, M. hangs out with his friend having lunch together, then going to coffee shop to enjoy coffee and playing cards. I go to my family home where my mom, two sisters and my nieces and nephews are gathering to plan how to spend the evening and where to go to have fun. Either we order food or we go to have lunch in one of the restaurant or take away the meals and go to the sea beach to enjoy our time eating drinking, chatting, playing around, have a long walk on the sea shore, listing to the jokes of my nephew, who has a funny character that makes us laugh out loud when he try to imitate famous characters or sharing some funny memories. On the weekend (Friday), we spend it at M.’s parents house in the Middle Area of Gaza Strip. We enjoy the gathering of his sisters and brother’s families beside eating special home-made lunch prepared by M.’s mom.
After the 7th of Oct, our life turns upside down, no work, no school, have long line of people risking their life to buy bread and essential needs and foods. After the 3rd days, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) cut the power. In our building there is a power generator, we depend on it to run the fridge and lights and charge our mobiles. In our daily life M. and I don’t follow up the political news and intend not to involve our kids in the political debates. So after Oct 7th, we only follow up the news through our mobiles, we don’t open news on T.V because we don’t want them to see the scary, bloody scenes. We let them open the TV to watch cartoons and movies or play on their tablets. After few days, the fuels shortage started so the power generator is working for 4 hours only then 2 hours. The internet connections and communication means were cut due bombing the telecommunication facilities. We hardly were able to get the connection few hours a day. So the kids were not able to open the T.V, or watch movies on Netflix or playing some games which need internet connection. Since the first night the kids slept in our room instead of their bedroom because they are scared. As the bombing is getting more random and aggressive targeting civilian building, we took our mattresses put them in living room which we found as safe shelter not on the roadside and away from the windows. We try to comfort the kids and distract their attention on the sound of the bombing during the day or shaking of our building due the heavy bombing during the day and night. Even Mesho gets scared and hides whenever he hears bombing. We tried to get canned food and food that can last long without using the fridge. We had to get rid of the food in the freezer since it becomes rotten. Either me or M. tried to get to the market once a week not daily so we don’t risk our life due the random bombing everywhere. I couldn’t see my family who are 10 mins away from us. The shops that sell pets essentials are closed, accidently we knew that one is open for an hour, so we managed to get Mesho food and litter.
When IOF asked the Palestinian living in the North and Gaza City to evacuate to Middle and South area, we were not sure that it is right to do so, according to our experience with the IOF, they deceive people and put them under risk. After their call and the recorded messages sent to many people phones asking them to leave Gaza city and north Gaza, we noticed the bombing getting more heavy. One night, we didn’t have generator, we had to light candles which we put as home decoration. There was not internet, I tried to check my mobile if the radio is working as we heard heavy nonstop bombing. I managed to open the radio on my mobile and we were astonished that the IOF targeted Al Ahli hospital which includes thousands of IDPs. Around 800 persons were martyred including women and children. We decided the next day to take our luggage which, as usual at any attack, we already prepared from the first day of the war. It includes our official papers and some clothes. We went with the kids and Mesho to M.’s family home in the Middle Area, we found his brother family and his 2 sisters’ family. The way was very scary, expecting any bombing, we saw the destruction of many building on our way, the coastal road was also destroyed, there ware families with their mattresses and belongings.
Yon can imagine having 13 kids and 12 adults in one house, you need to be very mindful when consuming washing water, drinking water, preparing food. Since the electricity is not available, we had the neighborhood generator running one hour a day. Then in one of the bombing the generator was badly affected, and it stopped working. We try to check if any neighbor has solar energy panels to charge our mobiles and the battery we use at night for lighting. We have shortage in food resources, clean water and drinking water, beside fuel for transportation and generators in hospitals. When we wash our face, the water is not clean and very salty, it harms our hair, eyes and body. The drinking water is not clean and causes health problems including diarrhea. The IOF targeted different bakeries. If you need to get bread, you need to stand in long line and wait for more than 3 hours. Many massacres were committed against civilians in the local market, in front of bakeries, many mosques a church which is sheltering many families causing the killing of tens of IDPs.
We may be more fortune than others that we manage getting food and water even if it not adequate. Other families who took UNRWA schools as shelter are suffering due lack of financial, non-food aids or food aids, the majority are daily paid workers who now lost their bread winning sources. You can imagine the lack of privacy, the hygiene status, the toilets use, shortage of food and drinks in the schools where more than 1500 persons including women and children, persons with disability, infants and pregnant women.
The tragedy and sorrow are endless and need long time to expose and speak about. One evening they cut off the internet connection and all kind of communication in all Gaza Strip, it was a complete black out, we couldn’t follow up the news, know where the bombing is, we couldn’t contact our families and friend to check if they are fine. No media coverage, more than 24 journalists were martyred since the start of the war. The ambulance and paramedic teams or the firemen were not able to know where the bombing is and where should they go. The cut last for almost 24 hours, then it returned but not fully working, it keeps cutting at any time. They are bombing a whole neighborhood like the massacre in Jabalia Camp and the Beach Camp which are overpopulated areas, the whole neighborhood was swiped off and there are more than a thousand people under the rubbles.
One evening, IOF bombed a house near us, children were screaming, it was dark and chaos, I had slight injury near my right eye and till today, I still feel there is something inside my eye and I can’t take it out. Our car had slight damage.
So far, I lost my cousin who studied in Ukraine, became a dentist, married to Ukrainian woman and has 2 beautiful girls. He fled from Gaza city with his family and his mom to Rafah seeking safer place but one day he was out getting some food for his family when he was martyred in one of the bombing.
One of my relative who fled to Middle Area had, in one night, to go with her mom to the hospital under the bombing to deliver her baby, she witnessed the worst experience, at the hospital there is no blanket of bed covers, no hygiene, the is one nurse and a doctor for 24 women delivering babies. There is serious shortage in medical supplies. She saw injured people from the IOF bombing on the ground as there is no capacity in the hospital for the large number of injuries. Doctors don’t clean the injuries and perform surgeries without anesthetization.
Doctors can’t deal with all cases, unfortunately they give the priority to the most sever cases others are asked to leave the hospitals.
Mesho food is running out and we try to find him alternative from our food but he doesn’t eat anything. We don’t know how we can get him his food, we try to make him familiar with this tough situation so he can manage himself in case we got martyred or lost him if he get scared and escape in one of the neighborhoods bombing.
I miss my home, my bed and the comfy mattress, I miss my parents, my brother my 2 sisters, my nephews and nieces, I miss our hanging out, laugh, chat every Thursday evenings. I miss having coffee latte in my favorite place, I miss my friend, I miss my work despite the daily pressure and workload. I miss our daily routine. My kids are missing their school, their teachers, their friends.
My biggest fears are missing one of my family members, if not all, since they randomly targeting complete neighborhood. Whenever I could speak with them, I do my best to hold my tears, I want them to be strong. My fear of being under the rubbles while no one can reach us or getting injured while the health condition in the hospitals is collapsing and not all injured people are able to get medical treatment. Fear from forced immigration as we are currently forced to leave our city and move to the middle area. The biggest fear to be forced to immigrate outside Gaza under the bombing threats. Where should we go and what shall we do away from our homes. Fear from the dark unknown future as they are targeting Gaza Strip infrastructure, thousands of people lost their homes and their work.