Life in displacement in Gaza: in search for safety, fuel, drinkable water

Rasha Abou Jalal

Nov 25, 2023

Gaza water — Palestinians pick up drinking water bottles that reportedly ended up on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing following a windy and rainy night, Gaza Strip, Nov. 20, 2023. — MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — “This isn't my house, where am I?” I have been asking this question every morning for the last seven weeks.

I quickly realize that I am not sleeping in my own bed or even in my own room, and the harsh truth hits me: I am displaced, like so many other women, spending nights away from my home in Gaza City, whose residents the Israeli army forced to evacuate.

This is not the worst of my suffering due to the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. I also face a daily struggle to find drinking water to quench my children’s thirst. I then remember that the last time we had running tap water was more than 47 days ago, before Israel severed water and power supplies to Gaza on Oct. 7.

The Israeli government launched a massive offensive against Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ infiltration into southern Israel, during which its members killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 240 others hostage. The Israeli operation has since killed more than 14,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to data from the Hamas-run government.