Doha – As Israel’s military campaign in Gaza stretches into its eleventh month with no end in sight, a growing sense of despair and resignation has set in among the territory’s 2.4 million Palestinian residents.
“It does feel like people are waiting for death. Death seems to be the only certainty in this situation,” said Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, speaking to AFP from central Gaza.
Since fighting broke out last October, relentless Israeli strikes from air, land and sea have reduced much of Gaza to rubble, killing at least 40,173 people according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The UN reports that most of the dead are women and children.
The onslaught has created an acute humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands who are running out of food and clean water.
“Nowhere in the Gaza Strip is safe, absolutely nowhere is safe,” said Wateridge. “We are facing unprecedented challenges when it comes to the spread of disease, when it comes to hygiene.”
She attributes this in part to the long-running Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has crippled infrastructure and left the territory ill-equipped to cope with the scale of the crisis.
Schools where tens of thousands have sought refuge are increasingly coming under Israeli fire as well. Israel claims Hamas uses the schools as command centers, a charge the group denies.
“Even a school is not anymore a safe place,” lamented Wateridge. “It feels like you’re never more than a few blocks away from the front line now.”
Weary of constantly fleeing after Israeli evacuation orders, many Gazans told AFP they no longer wish to keep uprooting their families. They criticize the evacuation communications as unclear, with spotty internet and phone service hampering their ability to keep informed.
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Those still on the move report deplorable sanitary conditions in shelters overrun with rodents and insects that “spread disease from shelter to shelter.”
Last week, Gaza reported its first polio case in 25 years, prompting urgent UN efforts to vaccinate children across the territory – if Israel grants permission.
As bleak as the situation is, Wateridge notes that Gazans still “always hope for a ceasefire” and closely follow any news of truce negotiations.
Mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt are due to convene in Cairo in the coming days for another round of talks aimed at halting the bloodshed.
But after similar efforts failed to secure a lasting ceasefire over months of negotiations, few in Gaza are holding their breath for a breakthrough. For now, they say, the grim reality remains unchanged: trapped in an unrelenting war zone with death as the only certainty.
