A climate of despair consumes many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who live in terrible humanitarian conditions, having suffered 12 months of Israeli bombing of the enclave.
“We spent a year at war,” he told CNN in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Abdallah Hmeida, a cancer patient displaced from Beit Lahia. Hmeida lost her parents, brother and sisters in the conflict, she said.
“It’s torment. We don’t know where to go, and we live in tents.”
Nabila Shunnar, a displaced woman from Sheikh Radwan, said she has spent the last year “in fear, terror, hunger and tragedy.”
Gaza residents told CNN who did not expect the fighting to drag on for a year and some now fear it could be endless as they see no concrete efforts to consolidate a ceasefire.
Some residents say they have been waiting months for the war to end just to bury their dead or recover their remains.
Um Fadi, a displaced woman from northern Gaza now sheltering in Deir al-Balah, said she has lost hope in the world’s ability to act in the face of the bloodshed. Living in tents with her husband and five children, Fadi fears the coming winter, saying her family has no clothes that can protect them from the cold.
For the inhabitants of Gaza, there were 365 days “of suffering, poverty, hunger, disease, instability and lack of security”, she told CNN .
“We are bodies without souls,” she added.
Understand the conflict in the Gaza Strip
Israel has carried out intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since last year, after Hamas invaded the country and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts. Furthermore, the radical group holds dozens of hostages. Hamas does not recognize Israel as a state and claims Israeli territory for Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and recover people detained in Gaza.
In addition to the air offensive, the Israeli Army carries out land incursions into Palestinian territory. This caused much of Gaza’s population to be displaced.
The UN and several humanitarian institutions have warned of a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, with a lack of food, medicine and the spread of diseases.
About a year into the conflict, the Israeli population took to the streets in protests against Netanyahu, accusing the prime minister of failing to reach a ceasefire agreement so the hostages could be released.
This content was originally published in “We are bodies without souls”, says Gaza resident after a year of war on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
