Kaelyn Salmanyazdi

Basmala Talat Sheikh Al-Eid I lived in a beautiful house with my family of six. We used to eat and have fun. Then one day everything changed, and our lives became filled with bloodshed from the beginning of the war. We went to my school We were given shelter because our house was destroyed by the occupation, and we lived in a school with many families in the same room. Then they asked us to leave the school and the entire city of Rafah. We were displaced and went to Khan Yunis city under Israeli bombardment. After two days we reached the beach and slept in someone else's tent because it was night there and we hadn't pitched our own tent yet. On the morning of the second day at sea, my brothers pitched the tent. It was very small and torn, and we lived in it for several months before the sea came upon our tents. We were forced to flee again, so we went to the Hamad area in Khan Yunis, which is close to the yellow line. We couldn't sleep at night because of the heavy shelling, and we were very afraid of losing someone from our family. Famine struck here, and we couldn't eat for days on end. We went to sleep hungry and cried from the severity of our hunger. My father is sick and cannot work, nor can he find us a morsel of food. The famine lasted for several months. One day we would eat, and the rest of the days we would go hungry. There was no bread, and flour was very expensive; we couldn't afford it. Some days I would faint from hunger. Then things calmed down, and we went to Rafah and stayed there for two months. After that, a tent near us was bombed, but thank God we got out unharmed. We immediately ran to a school to feel safe for a few hours, then we went to Khan Yunis again. Now we are in Khan Younis, specifically in Bir 19, which is a valley unfit for habitation in winter. After months, the American aid point opened, and my brothers went to their deaths every day to provide us with food. Israel was firing at us randomly from the Israeli side. My mother and I also went daily to provide our food because there was a famine, and my aunt was martyred while working for aid. The shooting over our heads was horrendous. Now I live with my family in a small tent that is unsuitable for both summer and winter. My father and brother are sick, and we cannot eat every day.