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| Israel imposed a complete blockade on food and other supplies for two and a half months, starting in March. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
sukabumiNews.net, GAZA – After being forced to flee several times during the Israeli war on Gaza, the Sobh family now finds refuge in a coastal camp west of Gaza City.
Street vendor Fadi
Sobh, 30, describes his tent as "very hot during the summer." His
29-year-old wife, Abeer, fetches seawater because clean water is scarce.
The children bathe in
turns, standing in a metal basin while their mother pours salt water over them.
Nine-month-old Hala cries when the salt water irritates her eyes, while her
siblings endure the discomfort without complaint.
Abeer feeds Hala
water from a baby bottle. On good days, she has lentils to grind into a powder
and mix with water. "One day feels like a hundred days, because of the
summer heat, hunger and pressure," he said, quoted by Aljazeera, Sunday
(2/8).
Fadi goes to a nearby
soup kitchen, sometimes with one of his children. "But food is rarely
available there," he said.
The kitchen operates
about once a week, never meeting demand. Often, he waits all day only to return
home empty-handed, "and the children go to bed hungry, without food."
Abeer sometimes goes
to the aid truck near the Zikim crossing alone or with Youssef, one of his
children. The crowd is mostly men—stronger and faster than he is.
"Sometimes I manage to get food, and often, I return empty-handed,"
he said.
When that doesn't
work, he pleads with those securing supplies. "You are saved from death by
God, please give me something," he begs. Many respond kindly, offering
small bags of flour for the children to bake.
During the hottest
hours of the day, the six children stayed in or near the tent. Their parents
encouraged them to sleep in the heat, preventing them from using energy and
becoming hungry and thirsty.
When the temperature
dropped, the children went outside. Sometimes, Abeer sent them to beg neighbors
for food. Other times, they scoured Gaza's devastated streets, scavenging
through rubble and trash for fuel for their makeshift stove.
After a day of
searching for basic necessities—food, water, and cooking fuel—the family
sometimes gathered just enough for Abeer to prepare a meal, usually a thin
lentil soup. More often, they had nothing and went to bed hungry.
Abeer said she was
growing weaker, often feeling dizzy while searching for food. "I'm tired.
I can't do it anymore," she said. "If the war continues, I'm thinking
about suicide. I have no strength or power anymore."
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| Abeer Sobh and her children carry water in plastic jerrycans after collecting it from a water truck. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| Malak Sobh, 7, searches for plastic among the trash to use as cooking fuel next to the makeshift tent for displaced Palestinians where the Sobh family is sheltering. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| Hunger has increased over the past 22 months due to the war due to aid restrictions, humanitarian workers say. However, food experts warned earlier this week that "a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza." [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| The hardships faced by the Sobh family, who live in a seaside refugee camp west of Gaza City after being displaced numerous times, are similar to those faced by other families across the war-torn region. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| During the hottest days, the six children remain in or around the tent. Parents prefer their children to sleep during hot weather—it prevents them from running around, expending energy, and getting hungry and thirsty. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| Fadi and Abeer Sobh cook lentil soup in their tent in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza City. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
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| One day, one of the boys found a pot in the trash—that's what Abeer now uses to cook. The family has been displaced many times, so their possessions are few. "I have to survive," Abeer said. "What can I do? There are eight of us." [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo] |
