GAZA EYE WITNESS: Trapped in our own homes

Palestinians react after an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya in Gaza, January 8, 2009. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah

Salwa El Tibi, programme manager for Save the Children in Gaza, speaks to AlertNet about daily life in Gaza City.

During these last 14 days I have left my house only twice. The first time was last Sunday when Save the Children started to distribute food parcels among the people in Gaza City, the beach camps and in the North area as well.

While driving I saw a lot of demolished houses and buildings, broken glass on the street. As a mother, it was hard for me to leave my children but I had to work because there is a severe shortage of food.

The situation here is really miserable and quite unbearable. Right now, I can see two helicopters in the sky but they haven't bombed yet, maybe they are looking for a targeted area, I don't know.

I live in Gaza City, in the North area, very close to Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya and in a three bedroom house. Since the 27th of December, we have been living in the middle of the house on the ground floor on mattresses - for the safety of the children we live like this.

My youngest child is seven years old and when the bombing began she started wetting her bed. When she hears the bombs, she closes her eyes tightly and screams. When they bomb the area we feel like there is an earthquake.

Yesterday, when we had the truce from 1 pm to 4pm, I left the house to bring some food for my children and to go the office to complete our medical deliveries to the clinics and hospitals.

During this drive, I saw children for the first time playing football on the streets and this really saddened me because the children have been hidden away since the fighting began.

Shortage of food and water

Three hours of truce is not enough for humanitarian work and for the people it is definitely not enough. For example, I wasn't able to find bread for my children. I went to four bakers and found hundreds of people waiting in line and it was 3:30pm, and there was not enough time to wait. I couldn't even find flour or sugar to try and make bread at home. I wanted to buy my children some chocolate too but failed there too because the supermarkets are nearly empty.

Last night I only slept for two hours because they started to drop bombs and demolished two mosques in my area. One of the mosques is very close to my father's house and I was very worried because in this building there are 45 of my brothers' children but thanks God they are all safe and no injuries.

My father and six brothers were then evacuated from their home by the Red Cross. They are now living with my sister; more than 60 people are living in one building.

But two children I know very well who were playing in that same neighbourhood were killed - one was nine and the other 14. So many innocent people have been killed in the violence and according to El-Shifa Hospital records, more than 220 are children.

We have had no electricity for the past week. We have a shortage of water and no clean drinking water. I have a tank on top of my roof but without electricity we cannot pump the water to the house. It also gets very cold at night because there is no heat as well. I am complaining of many things - but this is not a life.

I have a headache that will not go away. It's really very miserable and tiring because we are all living together in one small space, everyone screaming and crying constantly.

All the children are traumatised from the continued shelling and Israeli air strikes. I think there are clear signs of deterioration which means we will need psychological support and medical intervention to deal with the intense anxiety, lack of sleep, bed wetting and high fever these children are suffering through.

I tell my children to be patient but sometimes I become silent and don't know what to say. When my youngest cries and tells me "mum, mum please tell them to stop shooting" and when she asks me when is it all going to end - I don't know what to say to her.

See also Salwa El Tibi's blog Trials of a Gaza aid worker

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