Displaced persons camps expand in the squares and streets of Gaza City

As the Israeli army continues its genocide and ethnic cleansing in the northern Gaza Strip, waves of displacement continue towards Gaza City, where the displaced are living in harsh humanitarian conditions inside temporary shelter camps.

Gaza City witnessed the spread of new camps in public squares, clubs and stadiums to receive the displaced from the northern Gaza Strip, including hundreds of families who were forced to flee under the threat of bombing and death.

In these primitive camps, residents suffer from severe shortages of food and water supplies, in addition to the extremely cold climate that increases their suffering.

Despite popular and charitable initiatives that try to provide some basic needs, the limited capabilities are not enough to meet daily needs.

Before the start of military operations on October 5, about 200,000 Palestinians lived in the northern Gaza Strip governorate, but the forced displacement led to the displacement of about 130,000 people, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The displaced headed to Gaza City, especially the western and central areas, after refusing to move to the southern part of the Strip as requested by the Israeli army.

Under the siege policy imposed on the governorate, the Israeli army prevented the entry of more than 8,000 trucks carrying aid and goods, according to a statement by the government media office.

UN officials said the army repeatedly rejects requests to allow aid into the governorate, which the Gaza government declared a "disaster area" on November 5.

New camps

Throughout the days of the genocidal war that preceded the military operation in the northern governorate about two months ago, the people of Gaza City were not accustomed to seeing these camp gatherings.

Everyone who was displaced or whose home was destroyed sought refuge in the homes of their relatives and friends or in displacement centers in schools and health centers, but with the large increase in the number of displaced people in the north, there was no longer any room in the homes or centers.

The displaced people were forced to live in these tents, which did not protect them from nearby Israeli raids, nor did they protect them from the winter cold.

On October 5, the Israeli army invaded the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestinians say that Israel wants to occupy the area and turn it into a buffer zone after displacing them from it under the pressure of bloody bombing and preventing the entry of food, water and medicine.

As a result of this operation, tens of thousands of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip were forcibly displaced towards Gaza City, where most of them resided in tents and shelters.

Difficult situations

In a new camp set up in the middle of the Beach Camp, west of Gaza, the Rushdi Ghaban family was displaced from the town of Beit Lahia a month ago.

He told Anadolu Agency that his family consists of 13 people and that they have no acquaintances or relatives in Gaza City, so he was forced to look for a tent after spending two days in the street.

Describing life in the camps, he adds: “The situation in the tents is very difficult, especially at night when the cold is intense, but it is still better than being out in the open.”

Ghaben continued, "Many of the displaced people from the town of Beit Lahia resorted to tents because they had no alternative and stayed there in the hope of returning soon to their homes and properties."

He points out that they did not want to "leave Beit Lahia unless the Israeli army forcibly removed everyone from it."

He concludes by saying: “We accepted a life of hunger and thirst inside our homes in our town so that we would not go out to the tents, but unfortunately in the end we were forced to go out to save our lives.”

Lack of alternatives

Another camp was set up in the Al-Nasr neighborhood, west of Gaza City, where dozens of families displaced from the northern Gaza Strip live.

Yahya Zaqout, who lives in the camp with his family, says: “Today, there is no place to shelter the displaced except the camps in Gaza City, because there is no longer room in the houses and schools.”

He continues: "All the streets and public squares of Gaza City have been transformed into camps housing displaced people... There is no alternative for the people."

He describes the life of the tents as "difficult, bitter and full of oppression all day and night."

Zaqout points out that they "refused to leave the northern Gaza Strip and move south at the beginning of the war to avoid living in tents and homelessness."

He says, "After resisting for more than 14 months, the occupation forced us to live this life full of humiliation and insult, in which there are no basic human requirements."

Zaqout says, “Every resident of the tents suffers from indescribable internal pain and oppression because every detail of life is tiring, especially with the severe cold at night that has begun to eat away at our bodies.”

He says: "We hope that the invasion of the northern Gaza Strip will end as soon as possible, the Israeli raids and targeting will stop, and we will return to our towns and neighborhoods in peace."

Tragic conditions

Reem, a young Palestinian woman displaced from northern Gaza, recounts her suffering, as she and her family were forcibly displaced under intense Israeli bombardment and the siege imposed by the Israeli forces.

She told Anadolu Agency that the displacement journey was fraught with danger, especially for the elderly and children who suffered from hunger, dehydration and thirst.

She added that her arrival to the west of Gaza City was after facing harsh weather conditions, including heavy rain and strong winds.

She explains: “We fled to Gaza City without any shelter to protect our families. We suffer from a lack of clothing and food, and we live in extremely harsh conditions. No one looks at us with sympathy or mercy.”

Despite the suffering, the young Palestinian woman expresses her hope, saying: “I hope the war will end soon and I can return to my home in the town of Beit Lahia.”

A difficult and harsh displacement with a disabled child

As for Mohammed Abu Ayesh, another displaced Palestinian, he spoke about his tragedy, saying, “We were displaced from northern Gaza after the occupation forces bombed one of the schools where we were taking shelter for 20 days.”

He added: "The bombing resulted in the injury of more than 40 people, including children and women."

He continued: “We had to flee when the bombing happened, and we headed to the west of Gaza City. I suffered during the displacement because there was no means of transportation, and I had to carry my disabled child all the way amid harsh conditions and continuous targeting.”

He points out that the situation in the displacement camps is tragic, as they lack the most basic necessities of life, such as water, food and bedding.

Between bombing and displacement

For her part, Abeer Al-Radhi’, a displaced person from Beit Lahia, spoke about her experience, saying: “We were displaced under the bombing and destruction. We lived through the most difficult days of our lives. The bombing came from every side, and our homes were completely destroyed.”

She added: "We initially took refuge in schools, but the Israeli forces surrounded us with aircraft, which forced us to flee with thousands of residents."

The infant points out the deteriorating conditions, saying: “We could only carry a few things with us. Now, we suffer from various diseases due to the poor conditions.”

She continued: "There are no tents here, no food, no clean water, not even a mattress to sleep on. My child was attacked by a dog, and there are insects everywhere."

The Israeli army did not allow the displaced to carry their belongings during the displacement, which made their life inside the tents and shelters extremely difficult, and lacking the most basic necessities of human life.

According to the government media office, the number of displaced people inside the Strip since the beginning of the Israeli genocide has reached two million people out of a total of 2.3 million Palestinians in it.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 151,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on November 21 against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.

Anatolia