GAZA, (PIC)
Among the graves, the Abu Samak family spreads out on the ground in the Al-Sawara cemetery in the Al-Zawayda area of central Gaza, after being forcibly evacuated from their homes in eastern Deir al-Balah just days ago.
“Where do we go?”
The head of the family, Adham, tells a reporter from the Palestinian Information Center that the decision for forced evacuation hit them like a thunderbolt, and the first thought that came to their minds was, “Where do we go?”
Adham added that all areas west of Deir al-Balah, to which the Israeli army instructed them to move, were completely full, leaving them with limited options. They ended up spreading out on the ground among the graves of the dead.
With tearful eyes, he continued, “We are dead while we are alive; we have been killed for nearly a year while the world watches and remains indifferent.” He questioned, “By what law or custom do our children sleep in the open, frightened, in the graves of the dead?”
On August 24 and 25, the occupying forces issued evacuation orders for residents of several neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah, asking them to move to what is called a humanitarian area. However, they later instructed some of them to return to their areas again last Thursday.
Ibtisam stated that this war is the hardest. “The army tells us to go to safe areas, then bombs and targets civilians in those areas.” She questioned, “Where is the safety and security the army claims?”
She added, “We fled to the cemeteries, which are not safe; the army invaded them on the ground, devastated them, and caused destruction. Neither the living nor the dead are safe.”
The toughest war
The situation for citizen Ibtisam Abu Omra was no better than that of Abu Samak; she was forced to flee from the Abu Arif area east of Deir Al-Balah to a cemetery in the city center.
She explained that displacement is a piece of torment, requiring one to gather whatever few belongings they can, along with their children and even the elderly in their homes, into the unknown. “Where do we go? We found no place except the cemetery.”
According to international reports, over two million Palestinians are crowded into what is called the humanitarian area, which constitutes less than 11% of the total area of Gaza, in extremely dire conditions.
Out of every 10 Palestinians, 9 have been forced to leave their homes and displace once or multiple times, according to reports from international organizations.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people patiently and hopefully await the moment when the bloody war will cease, allowing them to stop their repeated displacement and return, even if only to the rubble of their destroyed homes.
