'My back aches from the hard mattress in our cramped room. The sound of constant shelling haunts me.'
– Lama Abu Leila (16)
This is just one extract from a number of diary entries shared with Christian Aid and penned by children in Gaza, in which they detail the horror of life across the strip right now. Below are diary entries from children detailing the horror of life in Gaza right now. They describe their fears under near constant Israeli bombardment and their struggles of living in cramped shelters.
Sixteen-year-old Hala Abu Saleem lives in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza strip. Her day begins in the early hours of the morning. For many children her age, it would be the time at which they’d be getting ready for school, but not for children in Gaza like Hala.
'I pack my bag, but not with schoolbooks. I pack a few clothes, ready for another expected displacement.'
Over 90% of all schools in Gaza are being used as shelters for displaced people. More than half of schools used as shelters have been directly hit over the last 10 months. No longer able to attend school, Hala’s days are now occupied by chores and worry.
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'I help my family draw water using a small pulley. It’s exhausting work. Once we finish hauling water, we move on to baking bread.'
'I clean the house and try to pass the time by reading old books. But I can’t find the same joy in reading anymore. After three or four pages, anxiety and fear overwhelm me.'
Once a time when family and friends came together to chat and eat, the evenings are now a time filled with dread and fear for what the hours ahead might hold.
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'We welcome what’s left of our friends and neighbours into our home. The lively conversations we once had have turned into expressions of deep sorrow and tears. We keep asking, 'Where is she? Where is he?,' Hala said.
'Night falls, but it’s no longer a source of peace. Instead, it’s terrifying. I just wish it would pass quickly so we could have one restful night’s sleep,' she added.
The scale of the destruction in Gaza is unimaginable. 1.9 million people in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes and over 70,000 homes have been destroyed. According to UN experts, rebuilding homes in Gaza will cost $40bn and could take 16 years to complete.
Following the destruction of her home,15-year-old Nada Mahdi al-Loqa now lives with her family in a camp for displaced people in Rafah.
'We lost our home, our memories, our dreams and our education. We live in a small tent where my sister and I share a single bed, a far cry from the colorful room where we each had our own space,' Nada said.
'I wake up to the sound of drones buzzing overhead, fearful that they might open fire. We pray for this nightmare to end, then try to go back to sleep,' Nada added.
Severe food shortages are rife across the Gaza strip. 1.2 million people in Gaza face extreme hunger including nearly half a million people in famine-like conditions. Safe drinking water is also in short supply as many water facilities have been destroyed or damaged over the last 10 months. As Nada explains, this is the grim reality that family’s like hers are grappling with day in day out.
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'The sun’s scorching heat and relentless flies make it impossible to sleep past dawn. I prepare a meagre breakfast of thyme, cheese, and tea. The food we receive is limited and often spoiled, a result of the blockade,' Nada said.
'The heat is unbearable. We escape to the beach and sit among others who have also fled their homes. Children line up to fetch water, their tiny hands struggling with heavy bottles,' she added.
Nada said nightfall provides a minute chance at something remotely resembling a moments respite.
'We eat dinner, pray, and attempt to sleep early, seeking some refuge from the noise of explosions and buzzing drones. Sleep is our only escape.'
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The United Nation’s children’s agency has dubbed Gaza the world’s most dangerous place to be a child. For Maged, it is also a place where dreams are broken. The afternoons, once a time for sports are now a heartbreaking reminder for Maged of what could have been.
'I used to dream of playing professionally, but the war shattered that dream. My heart breaks when I see the fields where we used to play, now sites of devastation.'
Since the outbreak of the conflict, Christian Aid’s local partners in Gaza have provided medical care as well as food, water and blankets to people living in shelters after fleeing their homes to escape airstrikes. This support has been carried out despite the vast majority of our partner staff being displaced themselves.
Christian Aid also supports a health centre in Al Mawasi and a disability friendly shelter in central Gaza. In Khan Younis one partner opened up their community centres for displaced families until they were displaced themselves, while another partner has been documenting human rights abuses and possible war crimes. Christian Aid’s partners have also supported Palestinians sheltering in churches in Gaza as well as Israeli peace activists.
The children who supplied these diary entries are all members of the Palestinian Children’s Council in Gaza run by Christian Aid’s local Irish Aid funded partner, The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR).