GAZA, (PIC)
In a Strip exhausted by the war of extermination and drained by repeated waves of displacement, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza continue their lives inside temporary tents, amidst humanitarian conditions that deteriorate day after day, and growing fears of the expansion of military operations and the imposition of new field conditions that push more families towards the unknown.
Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, tents and shelter centers have turned into a fixed daily scene throughout the Strip, while returning to destroyed homes or original areas has become a distant dream for thousands of families who lost stability, security, and their sources of livelihood, only to find themselves today between continuous displacement and a humanitarian crisis that deepens with the passage of time.
Repeated displacement without end
In Mawasi Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, Haj Mohammad Zu’rub sits inside a modest tent that turned into his shelter months ago, recalling a journey of displacement that extended from Rafah to more than one area within the Strip.
He says that the war did not give families a chance to settle down or catch their breath, as whenever the displaced thought they had reached a safer place, field developments forced them to leave again.
He adds that the decision to displace is no longer linked only to direct danger, but has become more complex with the absence of any safe place, and the lack of means of transportation or the ability to provide the minimum requirements for moving for many families.
The Yellow Line narrows the space
With the continuation of the war, fears are growing in Gaza over the repercussions of what is known as the Yellow Line, which is a buffer zone that expanded during the past months, and led to a significant shrinkage of the space available to the population.
Palestinians in the Strip believe that this situation doubles the humanitarian pressure on the areas of displacement, and leads to greater overcrowding inside tents and shelter centers, at a time when the capacity of local and international institutions to respond to growing needs has declined.
With every new field expansion, the state of anxiety increases among the population that long displacement will become permanent, especially with the continuous destruction of homes and agricultural lands in large areas of the Strip.
Daily life under bombardment
Inside the camps, suffering does not stop at the narrowness of the place or the loss of privacy, but rather extends to the details of daily life.
Lamia Al-Qahwaji, a mother of four children who was displaced from Bani Suhaila, says that families live in a state of exhausting waiting, during which they do not know if they will return to their homes or if those homes are still standing in the first place.
She explains that tents no longer protect from heat, dust, or insects, while the burden increases on families with the shortage of clean drinking water, the absence of health services, and the interruption of education for thousands of children.
As for Mawasi Khan Yunis, Abu Anas Dheir describes the scene during recent days as a permanent mix of fear and chaos, with the continuation of raids and the falling of shrapnel near shelter locations, which pushes families to run from one place to another in an attempt to survive.
A widening humanitarian crisis
In addition to security fears, humanitarian conditions in the Strip are worsening rapidly.
With the decline of food aid and the reduction of relief programs, thousands of families have come to face increasing difficulty in providing food on a daily basis, while levels of need for water, basic supplies, and healthcare have risen.
Displaced families say that daily priorities have become focused on securing one meal or obtaining an amount of water sufficient for a few hours, in light of rising prices and the scarcity of many basic needs.
Economic and psychological pressure also reflects on the details of social life inside the camps, with an increasing feeling of exhaustion, anxiety, and the absence of any clear signs of near relief.
Open waiting for the unknown
With the continuation of the war and the siege, the residents of the Gaza Strip remain facing a heavy situation that goes beyond losing home and place, to a daily feeling of uncertainty.
Families exhausted by long months of displacement do not know when the war will end, nor where the next refuge will be, while tents are gradually turning into a suspended space between a very harsh present and a future whose features are still absent.
In light of this scene, the displaced in Gaza continue their long waiting, trapped between tents, destruction, and narrow space, while returning to normal life remains a postponed wish amidst one of the most complex humanitarian crises the Strip has known in recent years.