Nowhere to return, say displaced Gaza residents sheltering in a destroyed UNRWA school

Gaza City- Occupied Palestinian Territories-

“Look how we live! There are no bathrooms, no water and no food. Trash is everywhere. We sleep near piles of garbage!” says a displaced Palestinian woman living in a destroyed UNRWA school that has been turned into a shelter in Jabalia, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

As famine threatens Gaza, US and Jordanian planes again airdropped food aid into the besieged territory of 2.4 million people in a joint operation with Egypt and France.

Aisha Ghalia, a displaced woman, called attention to the plight of those trapped in the besieged territory: “Look at our situation, look at how and where we live! Look how rainwater seeps through the roof. Look how the ceiling falls on us and our children when there is bombing near us.”

Um Hussam Al-Zaanin is another displaced female with a harrowing tale to tell the world: “When it rains, we and our children drown with our mattresses. Look how we live! There are no bathrooms, no water and no food. Trash everywhere. We sleep near piles of garbage, we sleep where animals stand.”

She adds, “Our homes have been bombed and destroyed, and we have nowhere to return to. If we had another place we wouldn’t come here. If one room in my house remained standing, I would rather live in it than come to this place.”

Muhammad Adham has a similar account as he seeks shelter in overcrowded buildings that still remain: “Our house was bombed and we were displaced. I went to my sister’s house until my sister’s house was also bombed a month later, so we became displaced again. We looked for a place to go to, we looked at other schools, but they did not have space for us.

“When there is bombing, we find the ground shaking under our feet. We are afraid that the school will fall on us because the roof and walls are damaged. When they (Israeli forces) bomb, we see the ceiling and walls moving.”

Mahmoud Al-Masri is braving the cruel elements as a displaced person, bereft of all necessities of life: “The cold is severe, and it affects children and adults. We are afraid, we feel that the school is shaking due to any strike. We tell ourselves that school will fall on us now. The situation is very difficult. There is no food, no drink, and we have nothing. Children are close to death, we are all close to death from hunger, old and young.”