Displaced Gazans say they are living a nightmare

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Abu Ibrahim, a displaced Palestinian living in a dilapidated tent in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, said they are “living a nightmare and hope to wake up from it.”

Ibrahim, 50, experienced several displacements that began 80 days ago from his home in the town of Abasan Al-Jadida, far east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern enclave.

Trying to set up a fire to cook food for his children and wife, Abu Ibrahim said: “Look at my hands, my eyes, and my face. Everything is black from this fire because we cannot find anything else to ignite the fire except paper, straw, and nylon. The black smoke that doesn't stop emitting, blackens my hands, and face, and burns my eyes."

Israel has launched a massive military campaign on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 21,110 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 55,243 others, according to local health authorities.

'We know that water and food are contaminated'

“We drink contaminated water and eat contaminated food, and we know it because we mainly cook it using nylon that covers the food with its black smoke,” he said.

“But we have no other option as I have children to feed.”

“I wish I was dreaming and waking up. I wonder at every moment, is this a dream or reality?" the Palestinian man described his feelings.

“We have reached a state of hysteria from these inhumane conditions we are living in, and we never expected to experience such a day. This is a nightmare,” he said.

“Every time we move, the Israeli forces bomb the areas we seek refuge in and tell us to leave,” he lamented.

Abu Ibrahim does not know the fate of his house in the town of Abasan Al-Jadida, but he hopes to return to it, saying: “I wish to go back to my home and live like a normal person, leaving behind the life of homelessness.”

In a corner of the tent made of fabric and some pieces of nylon, Abu Ibrahim's wife sat surrounded by her children, still struggling to come to grips with the reality that she was living in such conditions.

“I can't believe or adapt to this new situation. I feel like I'm living in a nightmare,” she said, questioning: “Is this really our life?”

‘Living under open sky with no food, water’

In another nearby area in the city of Rafah, where tents for the displaced people are scattered, Palestinian woman Ahlam Shalh sat with her homeless children after being displaced from the Nuseirat refugee camp to Rafah.

“I am from Gaza City. We were displaced to the Nuseirat camp at the beginning of the war, and yesterday the Israeli army asked us to leave the camp for the city of Deir al-Balah or Rafah,” Ahlam told Anadolu.

She added: "We decided to head to the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, but we found no shelter for ourselves. Here we are sitting without food, water, or even blankets.”

Hind Abdel Nabi, another displaced Palestinian woman whose condition is not much different, said she came to Rafah city with her child who is suffering from a heart disease.

“We lie on the sidewalk, suffering from the heat of the sun during the day and suffering from the cold during the night. I can't find any shelter or even blankets,” she told Anadolu.

“I've searched a lot for a tent to shelter my children, but I have found none. I want a shelter for my children,” she demanded.

The onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara