Displaced in Gaza: From home comforts to the shattering horror of war
Dire conditions in Gaza marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of infectious disease, are being made worse by blockages preventing essential medical supplies from entering the enclave.‘I feel like I’m in prison’ Umm Ahmad lives with her family in a camp in western Gaza City, where she arrived after a journey of displacement that forced the family to move four times – after being displaced from Jabalia in the north.“This tent broke our backs; we can't even stand up in it. I feel like I'm in prison,” she says, entering her flimsy makeshift home.Pointing to a bag of bread hanging at the entrance to the tent, she told our correspondent: “We hang food so that it is away from mice. Mice and rodents sleep among us in the tent. This is more difficult suffering than the war itself.”Water scarcity In a narrow corridor between the tents, Umm Ahmad stands in front of a small counter on which a bowl of soap and water has been placed for washing dishes and cups. Due to scarcity, families rely on storing water manually in plastic containers in quantities that do not meet daily needs.“There is very little water, when it is available we can clean it. The possibilities are limited, as you can see, and the situation is disgusting. This is the life in tents.”
