Now 100 days old, the displaced see the Israel-Hamas war as a disaster, stripping many of hope
Published Date: 1/19/2024
Source: AP Archive
(14 Jan 2024) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip - 13 January 2024 1. Various of crowd on the streets of Deir al-Balah 2. Various of people buying and selling products on the crowded street 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Al-Haddad, displaced resident from Khan Younis: "It is a difficult situation. There is not a day that we do not move from place to place, from Deir al-Balah to Khan Younis to Rafah. Prices are high, there are no goods and there are no basics (things needed) for life. There is no life at all." 4. Various of crowd on the street 5. Various of people buying and selling products 6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, displaced resident from Wadi Gaza: "A tragic, catastrophic, indescribable situation. Everyone saw thousands of martyrs and wounded. Those who were not martyred were wounded. Who wasn't wounded, had their home destroyed. Those who didn't lose their homes were displaced. A disaster that has struck all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." 7. Various of Ibrahim Assaf's family, who have been displaced from Jabaliya, inside their tent 8. Assaf leaving tent 9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Assaf, displaced resident from Jabaliya: "I have a small tent. The cold has killed us. There's no food. There is nothing. I can't give my children a carton of milk. My children are sick. They won't give us any nylon." 10. Various of children in makeshift shelters 11. Various of men building tents with plastics and wood 12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Assaf, displaced resident from Jabaliya: "God willing, we'll go back north and things will be resolved. We want things to work out. We're approaching 100 days and there are no solutions. When I was displaced from the north of Jabaliya, my two brothers were mentally handicapped and were killed by the Jews (Israelis)." 13. Various of tents where displaced people are living STORYLINE: Now 100 days old, the latest Israel-Hamas war is by far the longest, bloodiest, and most destructive conflict between the bitter enemies. With the conflict showing no end in sight, many of those displaced by fighting and bombing campaigns have been forced to live in tents on the street. While they mourn friends and relatives killed in the conflict they also struggle to get food and water - and many are losing what little hope they have left. Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, a displaced resident from Wadi Gaza, has called the conflict a "tragic, catastrophic, indescribable situation." "Everyone saw thousands of martyrs and wounded. Those who were not martyred were wounded. Who wasn't wounded, had their home destroyed. Those who didn't lose their homes were displaced,” he told The Associated Press, while walking in the overcrowded streets of Deir al-Balah, currently home to thousands who have fled from the north. The fighting erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and a ground offensive that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighbourhoods. The offensive has displaced the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, shuttered operations in nearly half of Gaza's hospitals and caused widespread famine, U.N. monitors say. Ibrahim Assaf lives in a precarious shanty made from materials like plastic sheeting and lengths of wood. But with few proper materials, the Gaza winter has added another element to his family's misery. "The cold has killed us," he said. "There is nothing. I can't give my children a carton of milk. My children are sick." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f8a09dd005764e3492380630d8675e42