The ongoing horror of life in Gaza

We will, however, try to show it as best we can through the experiences of those who are, only now, beginning to try and piece their lives back together. 

Almost two million people - roughly a third of the entire population of Ireland - have been forced to flee their homes since conflict erupted in Gaza in October 2023. 

Scarcely a single person in the territory has been unaffected by the violence, with thousands upon thousands of lives lost, including those of women and children.

We've all seen pictures of the devastation in Gaza, with much of the 41km long strip reduced to ruin, but what have the lived experiences been of those who were left with nowhere to go?

Mehran Antiz is a displaced man from Tel Al-Tuffah in the northern part of Gaza, and a father of seven children.

Struggling to provide food, water and essential clothing for his family, Mehran is now living in a tent near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah.

Mehran and his wife have struggled to find safety since the violence broke out, while intense heat in the summer and subsequent heavy rains have made living conditions unbearable for him and many others in the same situation.

"I’ve been in this difficult situation for a year and four months, making our situation extremely tough," Mehran tells us. 

"My children need clothes and the basic necessities of life, and we live in a tent where water leaks on us during the rain. I am telling you, we don’t have the money to return. Until now, since morning, I’ve been telling myself: I don’t know how to go. The situation is not okay."

Mehran's face betrays the hopelessness of his and his family's situation.

"Before the war, our life was beautiful. I had a house, I had a car that I worked on, and you remind me of the good days that no longer exist. I don’t think they will return. I owned a house, and there was a door that closed on us, and the situation was good. We ate healthy food, and my children wore clothes and went to school, and I worked and earned my livelihood."

Separation from his own parents have mad a tortuous situation even worse. 

"I miss my mother, my family, and my father. I haven’t seen them in a year, and it feels like 20 years," Mehran explains. "My family is in flames, and I am in flames. My mother’s heart is burning for me, and my heart burns for them. Sometimes, I sit with myself, cry, and think about what is happening to us. I left them in the flames, and I am in the flames."

A tent in Deir Al-Balah is also home to Ikhlas Nabil Al-Kafarna, her child, her husband and her mother-in-law. They have been displaced multiple times over the last year and a half.

Ikhlas and her family have been through hell and back and, despite the current cessation in hostilities, life remains incredibly tough. 

"I couldn’t sleep at night due to fear; it was truly tormenting," she tells us. "I am one of those people who couldn’t sleep when the airplanes were hovering above. I used to hold my child in my arms, thinking we were going to die.

With food, water and the most basic of resources needed to live a dignified life almost impossible to come by, Ikhlas and her family - similarly to Mehran's - are now at the mercy of the elements.

"We are drowning because of the rain. You can imagine how much we suffer from various diseases. As for me, due to my weak immunity, I can’t even walk properly, and I suffer from shortness of breath because of the smoke."

Watching her son get sick, without being in a position to get help, has been particularly tough for Ikhlas. 

"My son suffered from chickenpox for two months, and no treatment was available. We searched for treatment everywhere, but even food wasn’t available," adds Ikhlas.

"There was a shortage of flour, food, and drinkable water. The water supply was cut off for four or five days at a time, leaving us without drinking water. We had to queue up to fill containers with water. The situation was extremely difficult."

Ikhlas hopes to return home to Northern Gaza before Ramadan to be with her extended family, but life remains highly uncertain. At the very least, she says, she hopes that aid might arrive in the form of clothes, blankets, mattresses, food, medicine and a more secure tent that can withstand heavy rain.

Finally, we speak to Umm Muhammad Nibhan, who arrived with her family in Deir Al-Balah having been forced to flee their home in Northern Gaza. 

She now finds herself struggling to feed herself and her family - a single loaf of bread between an entire must last an entire day - while they sleep on empty plastic bags that they borrowed from their neighbours.

This is a level of distress that is unimaginable to anyone who hasn't experienced it.

"This situation has affected us a lot, especially the children. They became weak and sick due to the lack of food," Umm Muhammad Nibhan tells us.

"Drought has affected all of us. I can barely move, there is no food or drink. We spend the whole day trying to make a loaf or something to eat, and barely manage to secure flour from here or there, and even this is difficult because there is no money."

She yearns for her old life.

"Our life was good, thank God. We had everything: bread, food, flour, and all our needs were available. But now, life has no meaning, there is nothing left."

At Concern, we have partnered with the Italian NGO CESVI, who are on the ground in Gaza and providing support to the local community.

Your donations have been helping to providing clean water, therapeutic food and to implement hygiene measures with the aim of limiting the spread of infectious diseases.

CESVI has also supported more than 36,000 people through the construction of latrines and the rehabilitation of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in Gaza.

Please donate to support people like Mehran, Ikhlas and Umm Muhammad Nibhan today.