RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza- Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip since October 7,2023, displacing thousands of Palestinians many times. Displaced Palestinian women taking shelter in schools and shelter centers face many difficulties.

Safiya Totah, one of the displaced Palestinian women, told us that she had been displaced multiple times since Israel started a war against the Gaza Strip. “We were living in the Al Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. An Israeli airstrike destroyed our house, displaced us. Since last year, we have been displaced five times. We are a family of 12 taking shelter in school. Our future is uncertain.”

She left everything behind

Safiya Totah tried to take out the kitchen utensils from the rubble of her house. “But I gave up trying to take them out from the rubble because it would be difficult to carry them. Each of our family members took a bag. We put a few pieces of clothes, a bottle of water, a piece of bread and several canned foods in our bags. We took shelter in a school but faced difficult living conditions. As summer temperatures increase, meeting our daily needs becomes more difficult. We have to queue to receive our meals from charities, to use the bathroom or to wash our clothes and dishes.”

‘There is no safe place’

Safiya Totah and her family members also suffer from power problems in the school that they have taken shelter for a while. “There is no cold water due to the power problems. We do not have fans for cooling down or privacy. We cannot meet many of our basic needs. We cannot even charge our mobile phones to communicate with our other family members in the southern Gaza Strip. People have lost their means of livelihood. We have to stay in this school despite all the risks. There is no safe place in the Gaza Strip. We can only have a safe life when the war ends.”

 She rescued from under rubble

“There is no safe place in Gaza,” said Maysaa Aslim, another displaced Palestinian woman. “Hospitals, schools, mosques, houses were all bombed. My house was also bombed. I was trapped under the rubble of my house and a team pulled me out of the rubble. Since then, I have been displaced multiple times. Every day, I hear one of my relatives is killed in Israeli attacks. I feel very sorry for the children living in shelter centers. They had dreams of going to school and becoming doctors and engineers.”

‘We live in fear of being killed every day’

Displaced people taking shelter in schools and centers suffer from mosquito and insect bites in summer. “I cannot sleep at night. Our quality of life has declined. We live in fear of being killed every day. The difficult living conditions in the shelter centers increase our suffering. I have received no information from my mother. I call on all human rights organizations and women’s organizations to support us.”