{"id":18731,"date":"2024-02-03T14:50:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T12:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18731"},"modified":"2026-10-09T03:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:20:35","slug":"gaza-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/gaza-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Life on Hold: Paths of Displacement and Disease Behind Gaza’s Doors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 7 October, the northern Gaza Strip has seen thousands of Palestinians displaced and pushed south, forced to leave their destroyed homes and carry their children on a journey fleeing the Israeli occupation’s bombardment.<\/p>\n

Even so, the occupation authorities continue to pressure them to move to the farthest point near the Egyptian border, towards Rafah, widening the circle of displacement. The Israeli occupation has committed mass massacres that have left behind some 27,131 martyrs<\/a> and 66,287 injured to date.<\/p>\n

Zawia3 contacted Palestinian families who survived the horrors of the bombardment and took different paths in their search for safety, to tell you some of their stories: some took refuge in hospitals as the safest shelter, others chose to move from north to south despite the risks, and some found shelter in relatives’ homes.<\/p>\n

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The Khedr Family and the Theft of Aid<\/h3>\n

A man in his forties who lived in the “Al-Katiba” area of Khan Younis, one of the neighbourhoods most targeted to this moment by violent occupation airstrikes, recounts to Zawia3 the details of what happened to him from the first days of the war until his displacement.<\/p>\n

“We miraculously escaped death, amid great danger, to Rafah governorate, without shelter, clothes or food; we slept on the ground. Each day passes with a difficulty close to death, as we cannot get the most basic necessities of life. Only those with money survive, and the rest may starve to death,” says Ashraf Hussein Khedr, 46, who supports a family of six. The war began intensively in Gaza governorate, where things developed tragically into the stage of extermination, then the situation deteriorated in southern Gaza, where the occupation’s vehicles advanced and the area came under violent bombardment from aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing this catastrophe, Khedr decided to leave his home after it was targeted by the occupation, but he had already lost relatives and cousins numbering no fewer than 20 martyrs. He explains: “What adds to our suffering is that all the institutions in Rafah governorate are part of this crisis. Most of the aid reaching Gaza through the Rafah land crossing is controlled by the Ministry of Economy and the supply police, and this aid is delivered to their own warehouses and offered to traders at fantastic prices”.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Despite surviving the bombardment, he says: “I have reached an extremely miserable stage. I have no money or any kind of basics and necessities of life; I live in a nylon tent. Many times I wish for death when I see that I cannot meet my children’s requests for food and warmth from the bitter cold. My grandson, eight months old, has suffered four cases of poisoning because of insects in the tent”.<\/p>\n

Despair and helplessness are evident in Khedr’s life as he points to the difficulty of living in very harsh conditions: “I cannot afford to buy firewood, the rain floods the tent and the children shiver from the intense cold. This war of extermination must stop; we have the right to live in peace”.<\/p>\n

According to UNRWA<\/a>, up to 1.7 million people (more than 75 per cent of the population) had been displaced across the Gaza Strip as of 22 January, some of them several times. Families are being forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Following intense Israeli bombardment and fighting in Khan Younis and the central areas in recent days, a large number of displaced people moved south again, making the border strip in Rafah between Egypt and Palestine even more crowded, portending a catastrophic situation at all levels.<\/p>\n

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No One Feels for Us<\/h3>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: Mohammed Ibrahim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amid the harsh conditions in the displacement camps in Rafah, artist Alaa Al-Jaabari, who was displaced from the Al-Saftawi area in northern Gaza, shares her story and her personal experience of life in the camp.<\/p>\n

“The tent is cold,” Alaa begins, expressing the daily difficulties she and her family face in the camp. She describes life there as full of challenges; words fail to describe the pain and the life that has changed radically: “We miss everything we lost, and we want to talk and tell of our suffering, but we have lost even that ability from the horror of what we have been through”.<\/p>\n

She talks about the deprivation of basic rights and how dreams have become a distant memory, pointing to a feeling of neglect and being forgotten. She describes the situation in Rafah’s camps as extremely crowded, with narrow roads and almost no transport, making every errand a full day of hardship. She talks about high food prices and supply shortages, and how poor sanitary conditions and polluted air have made many people ill, in addition to the feeling of helplessness and the psychological and physical pain she and her family endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The population<\/a> of the city of Rafah, adjacent to the border with Egypt, is 300,000, according to the latest official statistics from the city’s municipality, which makes Rafah crowded in its normal state even before the arrival of a million newly displaced people, all now living in an area of 20 square kilometres. The number of displaced people in UNRWA centres is 713,000, while the number of displaced people in tents, squares and homes is 268,000.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Survival and Farewell to a Dream<\/h3>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: Mohammed Al Bardawil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the displacement camps in Gaza, children are the most affected by and vulnerable to the horrors of war. Hundreds of them live lives full of hardships and psychological and physical challenges: some have lost their families, and others suffer physical health problems because of being besieged and the conditions of war. They look for treatment for their psychological and physical wounds and for food to fill their stomachs. They live with fear and daily suffering, according to Yasser Khedr: “We left our home miraculously and could not keep anything”.<\/p>\n

Yasser Khedr, 17, from Khan Younis, was displaced to the Rafah camp. He says he was studying in the Tawjihi stage, equivalent to the general secondary certificate in Egypt, before the war began, and dreamed of becoming an engineer, but the war aborted his dreams and education in the Gaza Strip stopped indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schooling has stopped completely in Gaza’s 796 schools, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics<\/a>, especially with the continuous bombardment of schools, which were either destroyed or became shelters for the displaced. According to official data, 304,371 students are out of the classroom this school year in Gaza: the students<\/a> of government schools, numbering 154,311, the students of UNRWA schools, numbering 142,120, in addition to 7,940 students of private schools.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Yasser stands waiting for help, or for a death that hangs over them every hour as the food and drink they have runs out; their great fear was not of the enemy’s missiles, which could devour their tent. He says: “Every day someone close dies, and to this moment I cannot comprehend that we were driven from our home and now live in a freezing tent, three metres in area, in which ten of us sit”. “I was interested in documenting the occupation’s crimes and at the same time helped my neighbours, but when I watch my father struggling to secure food and drink for us in these difficult conditions, my isolation and inability to help him grow; it seems I am unable to do anything,” the young man says.<\/p>\n

Speaking to us, Fathi Ahmed Mubarak, 38, displaced from the Nuseirat camp to Rafah, who worked as a public relations officer and photographer at Al-Aqsa University in Palestine, says: “Since the start of the war we have heard the sounds of bombardment and crazy tremors everywhere in Gaza, and we cannot sleep at night as we listen to the terrifying sounds and the shrapnel of missiles, aircraft and artillery around us, and the sound of what remains of the ambulances carrying the victims has become a basic routine of our day”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 121 ambulances had been completely destroyed as of 29 January.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Mubarak continues: “In our area, the central area in the Nuseirat camp, tanks approached from the east and north, under incessant aerial bombardment. We had to leave our homes and flee to Rafah, where prices have risen crazily and traders’ greed has exceeded all limits of humanity, amid an unprecedented rise in the prices of everything”, adding that half of his family had to flee to Deir al-Balah, but the occupation forces pursued them and the family home was subjected to destructive bombardment: “My brother’s wife and her son were martyred, and many family members were seriously injured”.<\/p>\n

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Living in the Street<\/h3>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: Mohammed Ibrahim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fathi moved with his wife, who was pregnant in the last days of the ninth month, and his three children to Rafah in search of safety and food. He says: “People here in Rafah live in constant crowding; there is no empty place. We had to sit in the street and slept there for two nights, trying to stay alive in these difficult conditions, and we hope helping hands will come soon to help us get through these difficult times”.<\/p>\n

It was the third displacement for Fathi, who settled at the Rafah crossing until his fourth child was born, but the birth journey was difficult. He says: “My wife went into labour during the day and we walked a long distance; we left the children and locked the place on them for fear they would get lost. To reach the Emirati hospital in Rafah, we used a cart pulled by a donkey. She was in pain for an hour and a half without us finding a means of transport or being able to call an ambulance by phone”.<\/p>\n

He describes: “Fear, tension and panic from the war and the constant bombardment have affected our weight and general health. Every day we rely on a can of beans and a can of cheese to feed the family, and most of my children suffer from colds, diarrhoea and intestinal infections, and there is no medicine of any kind to ease their suffering”.<\/p>\n

The family, which has had to rely on used blankets and bedding provided by neighbours and some friends, faces an acute shortage of clothes and shoes. The living situation, which worsens day after day, shows the extent of the despair gripping the family, especially after the bombardment began to directly threaten their lives. “Our greatest fear was when the bombardment came close to our home, smashing the windows and doors, and we lost some family members, martyred or missing,” Fathi added painfully. In these tragic humanitarian conditions, the story of Fathi Ahmed Mubarak and his family remains a witness to the daily struggle to survive.<\/p>\n

Youssef Abu Watfa, editor-in-chief of the Quds News Network, sums up the situation in the northern Gaza Strip and in the Rafah camps in moving words. He says: “My sister, her husband and 17 members of the family were martyred in a bombardment. I was displaced to Rafah and I regret it; I would have preferred to die in my town, as we were displaced before and do not want it to happen again”, stressing that Rafah now holds nearly 1.3 million people in a geographical area of 20 square kilometres and is witnessing difficult, unbearable humanitarian conditions. The population here faces a major crisis of acute shortages of drinking water and sewage drainage; in addition, diseases and epidemics such as viral hepatitis are spreading rapidly, and the population suffers an acute shortage of medicines and painkillers. With the arrival of January and the bitter cold, the population’s suffering increases as heavy rain falls and the weather grows colder, and because of the lack of resources and support, the population finds it difficult to provide winter clothes and basic necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the displaced need the basic necessities of clothing, food, drink and medicine, the United Nations decided to begin an immediate investigation into staff of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), after allegations made by the occupation authority accusing 12 employees of the UN agency in Gaza of taking part in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and of being elements cooperating with Hamas, which led nine Western countries, led by the United States, Britain and Italy, to announce the suspension of their aid to UNRWA, which will affect the volume of essential aid the agency provides to more than 2.2 million Palestinians inside the besieged Strip.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The Siege Tightens Its Grip on Health Care<\/h3>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: Emad El Byed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Displaced Naglaa Jarada (60) always received her medicines for diabetes, which she has suffered from for 15 years, from the government dispensary, but later the clinics and hospitals were destroyed and what remained of them became shelters housing the displaced. After she was displaced to the Al-Zawayda area in the south of the Strip, she had to buy some alternative medicines, but the medicine and its price are not always available.<\/p>\n

Her daughter Fatima Abu Al-Kheir tells us: “It has been two weeks since my mother stopped receiving insulin injections, and her condition worsens day after day. Because of the lack of treatment, the sugar level in her body is rising, and we do not have enough food for her to eat and balance her sugar”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Diabetes is the fourth cause of death in Palestine. According to a 2021 Ministry of Health report, diabetes causes nearly 10.6% of deaths in Palestine. According to the latest survey, in 2022, the prevalence of diabetes in the 40-69 age group in Palestine reached 20.8% of all individuals, 22.3% in the West Bank and 18.3% in the Gaza Strip, while its prevalence was higher among women than men in the 40-69 age group, at 24.3% for women and 17.3% for men.”<\/strong> Palestinian Health Minister<\/a> Mai Al-Kaila<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This reality highlights the acute shortage of medical and treatment resources, making access to health care a major challenge for Gaza’s residents, who have fallen prey to famine and epidemics. In the heart of Gaza City live Ola Walid and her daughter Kinda Ahmed Al-Wakil (eight years old), who has had type 1 diabetes since she was three. Ola tells the story of her family, which moved between Gaza’s cities, from Khan Younis to Al-Zawayda and then to Rafah, fleeing the bombardment that destroyed their home on 18 October. She points out that her daughter relies on Novorapid and Lantus insulin pens, as well as glucose test strips, to stay alive, which she used to get from the agency’s clinic and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, but the ongoing situation has made obtaining medicines a major challenge, especially after her stock ran out. She may have to use the available syringes as an alternative, but she fears the risks of not determining the correct dose and her daughter falling into a coma.<\/p>\n

Commenting, Dr Hisham El-Hefnawy, dean of Egypt’s National Institute of Diabetes, says providing insulin to diabetes patients in the Gaza Strip is essential, especially for type 1 patients, who depend on it entirely to control their blood sugar levels. He tells Zawia3 that insulin is more important to them than food and they cannot live without it, and a lack of insulin leads to serious complications, including diabetic coma, which can be fatal.<\/p>\n

He continues: Type 2 diabetes patients depend on insulin partially and can control their blood sugar levels by following a healthy diet and exercising, but they still need insulin at times.<\/p>\n

Dr Moussa Abed, director general of primary care in the Gaza Strip, sheds light on the deteriorating health situation in the Strip. According to him, more than 120,000 chronic patients are suffering, most of whom are classified under the second type of chronic diseases, and diabetes patients make up about 30% of all non-communicable diseases, nearly 30,000 cases, divided between type 1 and type 2. The World Health Organization<\/a>, meanwhile, indicates there are 71,000 diabetes patients in all of Palestine.<\/p>\n

He points out in his conversation with us that about 90% of medicines for chronic diseases are unavailable in the Gaza Strip or their stock has reached zero, meaning less than 10% of the necessary medicines are available to patients, putting them in a critical situation and making it harder to control their chronic diseases. He continued: “Patients face serious complications, such as diabetic foot, diabetic coma, heart disease, peripheral artery disease, stroke and even death, and 80% of primary care centres have been damaged by the occupation’s raids”.<\/p>\n

Abed was unable to provide accurate figures on the number of deaths caused by these diseases during the war, because hospitals have closed and stopped providing services; according to him, many deaths have not been recorded because of damage to health facilities.<\/p>\n

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An Initiative to Provide Insulin<\/h3>\n
\"A
A pharmacy during the ground offensive \u00a9 2023 Adel Hana\/Associated Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saba Majed Al-Jaafarawi, a Gazan journalist, tried to help diabetes patients through social media, to make it easier to reach patients and inform them of where medicines are available, or to provide them. She says: “I work hard to help patients, yet the situation of medicines in Gaza is extremely difficult; demand for medicines is high, and the quantities available are small relative to needs”.<\/p>\n

She adds to Zawia3: Insulin was the most important of them, and together with two other women we launched a personal initiative to provide help, as medicines are hard to obtain in the Gaza Strip except through official bodies such as the Ministry of Health or the UN Relief and Works Agency “UNRWA”. Based on my research, the alternative available in UNRWA clinics is not suitable for all cases.<\/p>\n

On the obstacles she faces, she says: Even though we may find the required treatment, it may be in a distant area, and because of the war, roads being cut off and difficult transport, the treatment may not reach patients. In addition, communication cuts have had a major impact: you may manage to provide treatment for a case, but because of the communication cut, you have to wait until communications are restored to be able to inform the case.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch said in its report<\/a> “Gaza siege puts diabetes patients at risk” that tens of thousands of Gaza residents who depend on insulin to regulate diabetes can no longer obtain it, as a result of the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation government on the Strip. The number of trucks entering Gaza fell from 500 trucks a day to zero for months, while from time to time a tiny number of trucks enter, some carrying insufficient medical aid.<\/p>\n

The organisation concluded in its report that the siege prevents enough medicines from entering Gaza and disrupts the refrigeration needed for insulin, describing the siege as collective punishment of the civilian population and a war crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the war on Gaza enters its 120th day, the Israeli occupation forces continue to commit more daily massacres, causing more deaths, injuries and missing people, while negotiations are still under way to reach a ceasefire agreement and the return of the displaced from in front of the Rafah land crossing to their homes in all areas of the Strip. The displaced remain caught between a life on hold and imminent death, awaiting decisions not yet announced.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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