After almost nine months of war, bombings and raids continue in Gaza. Since last November, no new truce agreement has been reached between Hamas and Israel.
In the Palestinian enclave, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating day by day and residents have lost hope of a return to normality, as Nahed, a French teacher, testifies. The daily life of this mother of four children is mainly made up of travel, like more than a million Gazans. His family is today in Khan Younes, in a house where 25 of them live.
“We have moved nine times: three times to Gaza and six times between Rafah and Khan Younes. Can you imagine with four children? There is no means of transport, we are on the street and we don’t know where we are going leave”, she laments at the microphone of La Matinale.
Lack of water and gas
Added to this is the lack of water and gas. “There is no gas for cooking, we cook on the fire. I always tell my children that I cook meals with my tears, because when I prepare the meal, I cry.”
Humanitarian aid is entering Gaza. But according to the UN, it is minimal, due to the closure of the Rafah crossing and the fuel shortage. This week, Philippe Lazarini, the head of UNRWA, also spoke of the collapse of civil order which is causing looting and smuggling. This is confirmed by Nahel on the ground.
I always tell my children that I cook meals with my tears, because when I prepare the meal, I cry
“We are in a neighborhood where a large family lives that monopolizes all the aid. As we are not part of their clan, our family receives nothing. We are forced to buy very expensive goods,” explains Nahed, who says she has not received humanitarian aid for two months.
She describes a certain normality, however. During the day, people go to the market, children play in the street, her daughter, who was a pharmacy student before the war, goes to one of them every day to continue learning. But at night, it’s a different story. “Despite the heat, we have to sleep dressed in case there is a bombing at night,” says the mother.
No hope of truce
On June 10, the UN Security Council agreed to support a US truce proposal, but nothing has happened since. Neither Israel nor Hamas have responded positively. This succession of failures to achieve a ceasefire is weighing on the morale of Gazans.
“I have no hope for the negotiations anymore. I don’t even listen to the news anymore,” Nahed explains.
