In the southern city of Rafah a father of four asks, ‘how can we handle this?’
There “are no words” to describe the situation in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, a father of four told NBC News by voicenote today.
“Everyone is crammed here,” said Sameh Adel, 44, who fled his home in Gaza City along with tens of thousands of others, as Israel bombed the north of the enclave and moved its forces in.
Adel, who worked as a teacher before he moved to Rafah, said people had to line up for hours for basic necessities like drinking water and packaged food.
“When we go to charge our phones we have to wait in lines too because there is no electricity in Gaza,” he said, adding that this was the only way they could stay in touch with family members scattered across the enclave.
The United Nations said in a statement yesterday that Rafah has become “the main refuge for those displaced, with over 1 million people, squeezed into an extremely overcrowded space.” Before Israel invaded the enclave, the population was around 280,000.
“How can a city handle this?” Adel said. “The number alone shows you how difficult life is here to cope with food and water.”
He added that he was worried about the effects of the war on his children, aged between four and 13, who he said were terrified of the sounds of “missiles and warplanes.” He added that they missed school.
But he said, he’d received pictures showing that their home in Gaza City has been destroyed. “There is nothing left, it’s all destroyed. Even if I get to go back to Gaza City, I have no home to return to.”
Asked if he would cross into Egypt to escape the violence and dire humanitarian crisis in Egypt he responded: “Of course. Any place where we can build a normal life.”
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