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The story of Palestinian women and girls suffering from war and displacement in Gaza. ‘Our strength is the only thing we have left’ – eSHOP24X7
“This war has changed my life forever. They have repeatedly displaced us, taking away my education and my friends. The fear we live with cannot be described in words.”
These are the words of 14-year-old Leanne Nahal, who at such a young age has seen five wars in Gaza and has been forced to be displaced several times.
“Before we could buy food, fruit and clothes,” says Leanne Nahal; “Now eight of us are forced to live together in a makeshift tent. I have more responsibilities than I ever imagined.” that.”
Leanne Nahal was once the most promising student in her class, but after the war escalated in late 2023, her life was completely turned upside down. Many of his friends and classmates left Gaza and went abroad to continue their education.
She says: “Now I am sitting in the shop, my books, my school uniform and my bag are gone. I feel like my future, my education and my childhood have been taken away from me.”
“My dream is that this war will end and that when I grow up I will become a history teacher and be able to tell everyone the story of Palestine and our endless pain.”
This war has affected all the people of Gaza, whether they are girls like Nahal or elderly women like Thuraya al-Gourani.
“My life has been marked by displacement,” says Thuraya Al Gourani, 85.
“I still remember that day in 1948, when my father told us to quickly leave Al Fallujah, a small village located between Hebron and Gaza. At that moment the Israeli armed forces were approaching. “Khan Yunis had fled, leaving everything behind.”
Al Gourani has seen seven wars since then.
He said that every time his family was displaced, it was not known if their home would be intact when they returned.
He said: “It increasingly seems as if our dignity is under attack. The current war is the most ruthless and cruel, and is lasting longer than all wars so far.”
During the devastating war in Gaza, UN Women heard the heartbreaking stories of countless women and girls from all walks of life.
Neveen, who works as a paramedic, has had to go through the pain of losing 80 members of her family in a single day in November 2023.
But despite this he has continued with his work. They have faced repeated displacement and horrific events, such as the destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital and the bombing of the UNRWA shelter in Jabaliya, where they had taken refuge.
Amani, a psychiatrist with the Gaza Ministry of Health, worked to comfort people suffering from years of war and conflict. Before the war, his dream was to obtain a doctorate thanks to a scholarship. But in May 2024, Amani and her four children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Ibtisam uses a wheelchair, but he no longer has a proper bed to sleep in and cannot walk on Gaza’s destroyed and impassable roads.
Due to the lack of resources needed to help people with disabilities in shelters, he was even separated from his mother.
Meanwhile, Palestinian women and girls in the West Bank also face serious challenges and burdens.
Kafa Abu Harb, a 49-year-old widow, is the mother of three children. He told the story of the difficult challenges he faced while living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
Kafa Abu Harb says: “(Israeli) soldiers broke into our homes, invaded our privacy, dragged us away for interrogation and kidnapped our children in the middle of the night without any reason or court order.” “.
“One of my sons is still in jail, without charge or trial. How are we going to endure all this?”
Although women and girls in Palestine face extremely cruel conditions, they have not yet lost hope.
She says: “We don’t ask for much: just the right to live in peace, the right to breathe without fear.”
“We Palestinian women have borne the greatest burden of this suffering, but we are still here. Still standing. The only thing we have left is our strength.”
