A Family's Story of Resilience in War-Torn Gaza Strip

My name is Ziad Moussa. I begin my story of suffering during the war alongside my only son, 18 years old, and my four daughters, aged 9, 13, 15, and 20, as we were forced to flee our home at the beginning of the war. I spent three months in a constant nightmare of continuous bombardment, displacing southwards through the Gaza Strip in search of a safe place for my family.

My family had previously been forced to flee during this escalation, before being compelled again to leave the Middle Governorates camp due to shelling, evacuation orders, and the ground incursion into the camp by the occupying army. We lived in constant fear and anxiety. The dreams of my children have been shattered by the sound of airstrikes and tanks, and the daily sight of martyrs and injured people. The family made the difficult decision to seek refuge in the southern Gaza Strip, leaving behind our completely destroyed home and memories.

All this, in addition to the severe lack of food and essential supplies. We eat only once a day, relying on legumes and canned goods like lentils and beans, which are distributed monthly but are insufficient. There are days when I cannot provide any food for them, as neither organizations nor charities support us.

Furthermore, we suffer while searching for drinking water and dealing with the available salty water, waiting in long queues to get a small amount that barely suffices for the day. We have been deprived of everything no money, no food, and no drink. This situation has had a negative impact on the children's health, causing diarrhea and weight loss, and exposing them to diseases like infectious hepatitis and enteritis (intestinal infections).

I was forced to deal with my daughters' fears: "What about our clothes and toys? Why do we have to leave? Where will we go?" I promised them new clothes and toys after the war. Beyond that, there is the issue of my daughters' education university, secondary, and basic and their inability to continue learning due to the lack of mobile devices for tracking lessons, the absence of daily internet access, and my inability to provide stationery and clothes.

I have nowhere left to seek refuge. Every time evacuation orders are issued, I am forced to abandon everything behind me and flee in search of safety. The last time was after my return to the Middle Governorates, when there was an evacuation of a nearby UNRWA school. After the school was bombed, we were severely damaged, and even the tent we were in became unfit for human habitation.

I yearn to feel safe and secure, and to obtain shelter, food, water, and medicine with dignity, and to have a chance to rebuild my life with confidence and stability. I ask you to look upon my situation with compassion and humanity and to help me, as I have no source of income, and the situation is much harder than you can imagine. Despite the humanitarian aid that enters, unfortunately, we see none of it. Furthermore, there is exorbitant living cost inflation and a severe lack of cash liquidity and support for us.