04 February 2009, Wednesday
Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to deal with deprivation amidst the extensive material and human loss left caused by the latest Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
The residents of Gaza suffered from a months-long Israeli-enforced blockade before the attacks began, leading to serious shortages of medical supplies, food and fuel.
With supplies short and homes bombed to the ground, every day is a struggle for Gazans to cling to life amidst the wreckage and deprivation in the aftermath of the Israeli assault. The people of Gaza are still largely without enough water, food or fuel in the winter cold.
In the Jabalya district, one of the most heavily bombed, over 90 percent of homes were completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by Israeli weapons. There is no water, electricity or food here. In this neighborhood near the Israeli border, there are still tracks in the streets from Israeli tanks. People have set up makeshift tents here and there to live in.
They usually stay outside the tents in the daytime to soak in some heat from the sunlight. Daytime temperatures of 15-20 degrees Celsius fall to 5 degrees Celsius at night. In the streets at night, many huddle around fires, forced to use olive tree branches as kindling. The Faraj family is one of these groups of people huddled around such a fire. On the seventh day of the Israeli assault, the family's home was destroyed in an attack that killed daughters three-year-old Semar, 10-year-old Suad and two-year-old Amal. Even the clothes the family members are wearing have been borrowed from a relative. Akram Abdullah Faraj is searching for an apartment to rent out for his family, but there are none available.
As the sun rises, activity begins in the streets. When we ask why, residents tell us that they are preparing to travel to cities farther from the border as they fear a renewed Israeli assault. Despite their plans, they all know that nowhere is truly safe and that another attack could come at any time in any place in Gaza.
(http://www.todayszaman.com/)
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