Al-Fukhari, Gaza Strip – Palestinians in Gaza who spoke to Tel Aviv Tribune are tired and heartbroken of having to leave their homes and move repeatedly in search of safety.
Many are praying for an end to the displacement and suffering that has torn Gaza apart for more than 60 days.
In al-Fukhari, south of the town of Khan Younis, the European hospital and schools are filled beyond capacity by thousands of displaced people from Khan Younis itself and areas further north.
They continue to move south because the Israeli army asks them to do so, leaving the areas in which they lived or to which they have already been displaced, heading towards the so-called “safe zones” that the Israeli army bombed it anyway.
Dr Youssef Al-Akkad, director of the European Hospital, told Tel Aviv Tribune that his teams were overwhelmed by the large number of people and were neither trained nor able to provide them with help.
“The displaced people are in the corridors, wards and garden of the hospital. The lack of water will lead to infections and cases of cholera have already started to appear. This is such a difficult and dire situation.
The displaced people around the European Hospital, forced to camp in the streets due to overcrowding, each have a story of suffering to tell. They hope to have finally reached a safe area in al-Fukhari. Unfortunately, most of them no longer believe in the idea of a safe zone.
Rula Musmah, 40, said: “I have never experienced this before. We were moved four times until we arrived at the European hospital, where there was not even a single place for us. I looked for a cafe where my three daughters and I can sleep at night, and during the day we sit on the street.
Musmah and her daughters, aged 15 to 18, left Gaza City on October 14 when the army asked people to leave.
“We have a beautiful house in the industrial zone, which we left because we risked hurting our daughters. We went to Deir el-Balah camp, where we stayed with friends for over a month. But the house was so crowded as more displaced people arrived and the bombing intensified, so we decided to look for another safe place.
“We had been in Khan Younis for two weeks when the truce began. We were happy to have a little rest from the noise of the bombing, even though nothing had changed. There was some suffering getting water and food, but we felt somewhat safe at first. But then news began to circulate that the Israeli government was threatening to move its operations to Khan Younis.
“I felt like my heart was going to stop, I was so scared. The (Israeli army) leaflets (to evacuate) started falling on the city again. We looked for another place and found nothing other than Al-Fukhari. We were among hundreds of people, there was no room in the European hospital or in the schools. Schools can no longer accommodate people.”
Musmah’s eyes filled with tears and her voice was choked with the grief of finding herself on the street.
There’s no more space left
With nowhere to go, people began setting up tents on an empty lot near the hospital entrance. The land itself had already been hit twice by Israel, but with no other options, hundreds of displaced people sought refuge there.
Salem Awaida, 55, said he had managed to stay at his home in Khan Younis until recently. “I had displaced people from Shujayea in my house. I was taking care of them and it was so busy I didn’t know how my day started or ended. Imagine my shock when they asked the residents of the Sheikh Nasser neighborhood to leave.
“At first I didn’t believe it and waited another day, but there was a very bad night of bombing two days ago, a ‘ring of fire’ tightly surrounded the area, and this morning , they said that tanks had entered Khan Younis. not very far from my neighborhood. So me and my family of 10 and the IDPs who stayed with us all walked east to al-Fukhari.
“It wasn’t safe at all. It was a really difficult night that I experienced at the European Hospital, with bombing until late hours and me sitting in the hospital garden. There was no room for me inside. Finally, I went out to walk a little, trying to breathe, to think, and I found people settled here in this empty lot, so I set up a tent for me and my family.
“At night we see missiles lighting up the sky, but I am not afraid. After this long assault, death seems more merciful than anything else.
Al-Fukhari is not a well-served area. It has few reserves and little water, having depended in the past on its supplies from Khan Younis, from which it is currently cut off by Israeli incursions.
This means it cannot support such a large number of displaced people, spreading fear among them as they also worry about the spread of diseases due to lack of water and hygiene.
There are few traders and their supplies are very limited.
“There are no stores here that sell vegetables, and there are no goods we can buy. We rely on only trace amounts of aid from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees),” said Khaled Muammar, 32.
“There will be a famine because the city is under siege and we are deprived of access to the market to buy what our children need. »
