With Nowhere to Run, Gazans Take Shelter in Prison

Israeli airstrikes on areas east of Khan Younis killed 14 people, Gaza health officials said on July 25. Entire neighborhoods were flattened in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, where poverty and unemployment have long been widespread.

According to the United Nations, nine out of every 10 people in Gaza are currently displaced.

Palestinians take shelter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Saria Abu Mustafa, a Gaza resident, said she was told by Israeli soldiers to flee because tanks were on the way. Her family left in their prayer clothes because they had no time to change.

After sleeping outdoors on the sandy ground, they also found shelter inside the prison, amid rubble and holes from earlier battles. The prisoners had been released long before the Israeli attack.

“We didn’t bring anything. We came here on foot, with the children,” she said, adding that many women had five to six children and it was difficult to find water.

Abu Mustafa arrived at the prison after being moved six times. If Egyptian, American and Qatari mediators fail to secure a ceasefire, she and other Palestinians may have to move again. “Where should we go? Everywhere we go is dangerous,” she said.

Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, say there is no escape from Israeli bombing, with much of Gaza now in ruins.

A Palestinian resident named Yasmeen al-Dardasi recounted that while evacuating from a district in the southern city of Khan Younis to the Central Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility, she and her family passed many injured people but were unable to help them.

The family spent a day under the tree before moving into the old prison, where they now live in a prayer room. The room protects them from the harsh sunlight, but that's about it.

Dardasi's husband has kidney damage and only one lung, but the room has no mattress or blankets. "We are not settled here," Dardasi said. Like many Palestinians, she fears being displaced again.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/khong-con-noi-nao-de-tron-nguoi-dan-gaza-tru-an-trong-nha-tu-post305152.html