The war in Gaza erupted after a brutal attack by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel and has led to an ongoing offensive by Israeli forces against the rebels.
Ahmed Abu Aita lost 45 relatives, including his wife and son, and his family-run milk and cheese business after an airstrike on October 20, 2023.
Ahmed Abu Aita points toward his house in northern Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble.
“The pain of losing my family, my son and my wife is indescribable,” he told Ziad Taleb. UN News reporter in the Gaza Strip.
“I was trapped under the rubble,” he said. “I called for help for two days but no one could hear me because the area was considered too dangerous. Finally, a neighbor heard my cry for help.”
“Some of my family members are still lying under the rubble,” he added.
Hamas attack
The October 7 attack by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups left some 1,200 people died and more than 250 people were held hostage.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, Israel’s response in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Palestinians in the area.
Additionally, nearly 90% of the population was displaced – many forced to move multiple times.
‘Death row prisoner’
According to senior humanitarian official Jonanthan Whittall at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, many Gazans feel as if “everyone has been put on a death list” since the war. painting begins.OCHA).
“Either they have been killed by bombs and bullets, or they are gradually suffocating for lack of means to survive,” he said, adding that “it seems the only difference is made is at the rate at which you die.” .”
Jonathan Whittall works for OCHA in Gaza.
A year of ‘destruction, displacement and despair’
According to Mr. Whittall, a year of “destruction, displacement and despair” has left all of Gaza in ruins and nearly all Palestinians forced from their homes, pushed into just 13% of the total population. ruins of the Gaza Strip.
“I wish life could go back to the way it was before the war. I hope, although it is impossible, my family members who were martyred will return,” Mr. Aita said.
Mr. Aita also emphasized the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“To get filtered water, we lined up in the sun just to fill up two gallons of water. We also have to work hard to find firewood to make a fire,” he said, adding that he currently lives with about 12 people in a small classroom.
Considering food and water shortages, inadequate shelter and a collapsed health system, Mr. Whittall lamented that OCHA is hindered from providing humanitarian assistance “every day.”
Hope for a return to ‘old and normal’
Despite all the devastation and loss of life, Mr. Aita’s resilience remained.
“We will not give up no matter how the occupation imposes and destroys us, we will rebuild. God willing, we will come back stronger,” he commented.
He plans to reopen the business and keep his father’s name intact.
