GAZA, (PIC)
With about 40 days until the official start of winter in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are trying to prepare for a season that may worsen their already tragic conditions as they continue to be displaced from their homes amid ongoing Israeli genocide for the 400th consecutive day.
The Israeli genocidal war has led to the disappearance of essential goods in the Gaza Strip, particularly clothing, due to the complete closure of border crossings and strict control over them. A suffocating siege has been imposed on the region since the occupation of the Rafah crossing in early May, with absolute Israeli control over the goods and aid entering the besieged area. This has occurred alongside a famine spreading in both northern and southern Gaza, with prices continuing to rise.
The genocidal war has revealed a deep tragedy among the residents of the area, who are sinking into extreme poverty. United Nations reports indicate that poverty rates in Gaza have reached 100%, amidst deteriorating living conditions and daily life, including a lack of food, water, clothing, and shelter.
As Gazans await the arrival of winter, they are gripped by fears, highlighting a major dilemma: the lack of winter clothing. They fled their homes under bombardment and threats, taking only limited belongings they could carry, while many homes, along with their furniture, clothing, and possessions, were burned by Israeli airstrikes.
Lack of winter clothing
Citizen Ibtisam Muqdad, who was displaced from Gaza City at the beginning of the genocidal war, tells the PIC reporter that she cannot find clothes for her four children. She wandered through the markets of Al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis, where she has sought refuge, but found nothing to protect her young children from the upcoming winter cold.
The thirty-year-old added that when she left her home in the Zaitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza City, she did so under the fire of Israeli bombardment and was unable to take winter clothing for her children, as they fled during the summer months.
She pointed out that her suffering is compounded by her inability to buy winter clothes for her children, as the cold seeps in from the edges of their tattered tent on the beach of Al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis. She lamented, “What have the children done? There is no food, no drink, no clothing, no shelter. What have they done to deserve this?”
A combination of factors has led to a severe shortage of winter clothing. The ongoing Israeli closure of border crossings and repeated bombings of buildings and facilities housing shops, sewing factories, and warehouses, along with the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, has resulted in their overcrowding in specific areas. This is occurring simultaneously with a drastic shortage of clothing that would meet their growing needs.
Our reporter notes that winter clothing in the Gaza Strip has become virtually non-existent. When available in the markets, it is often used and priced exorbitantly, making it unaffordable for Palestinians who are already suffering from rampant inflation, a lack of liquidity, and job losses.
Repairing old clothes
Tailor Munir Abu Hatab, whose shop was destroyed by the occupation army in December during the Israeli incursion into Khan Yunis, has set up a tent on the beach of the city and started repairing what displaced people have of clothing.
Abu Hatab tells our reporter that displaced individuals come to him seeking to repair their old clothes, whether by lengthening, shortening, or other alterations.
He confirmed that the conditions for the displaced people are extremely difficult and harsh, and they try as much as possible to fix what they have as the cold begins to encroach upon their children’s tender bodies.
Some shop owners are attempting to provide alternatives despite limited resources due to power outages and the inability to operate sewing machines, relying instead on primitive manual methods. Fabrics from blankets or home textiles are used to create winter clothing, but these garments have proven ineffective against the cold, and their high prices make them an unpopular choice for many families in Gaza.
Citizen Muath Abu Mustafa stated that the crises caused by the Israeli aggression against Gaza have not spared any aspect of daily life, particularly those that directly affect citizens’ needs. The situation has reached a point where there is a significant shortage of clothing, blankets, shoes, and other personal necessities.
Abu Mustafa explained to our reporter that “the severe shortage is due to the ongoing Israeli closure of the crossings, which aims to disrupt citizens in every detail of their daily lives. This coincides with the extreme inflation caused by the scarcity of supply, as the shortage opens wide avenues for the monopolization of scarce goods and raises their prices to exorbitant levels, exploiting the urgent need for them.”
