Citizens in the densely populated Gaza Strip of 2.3 million people have been living in fear since the bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel. According to health officials in Gaza, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed as of Thursday morning. A large number of people are fleeing in fear, but they have no place to go, both Israel and Egypt have closed their doors.
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“You’ll hear the sound from a distance, and then you’ll feel the house shaking. For now, all we can do is wait and pray,” Gaza Strip resident Aisha Abu Dakka said of the airstrikes. Gaza resident Mazen Mohammed, 38, said his terrified family spent the night hiding together as explosions shook the area before dawn.
“We felt as if we were in a ghost town, as if we were the only survivors,” Mohammed told AFP. Concern is growing over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the long-besieged Palestinian enclave, where Israel has now cut off water supplies. A complete siege has been imposed, cutting off food and energy supplies. The Gaza enclave’s only power plant shut down yesterday after running out of fuel. Videos circulated on social media showed residents using car batteries to charge their phones.
According to the Health Ministry, Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital is overwhelmed by the influx of patients and medical supplies, including oxygen, are rapidly running out. Canned food is rapidly disappearing from shops, the only slaughterhouse in the area is closed. Vegetables grown near the border are in short supply. With Israel now declaring a complete siege of Gaza, effectively blocking electricity, food and water supplies, one can only imagine how difficult life is for residents of the Gaza Strip amidst the crossfire of the warring powers. It will be difficult.
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