In Gaza, lives in pieces after the latest clashes with Israel

Najwa Abou Aïcha was standing on her roof in Gaza City when she was surprised by the exchange of fire between Palestinian armed movements and Israel last week

In Gaza, lives in pieces after the latest clashes with Israel

Najwa Abou Aïcha was standing on her roof in Gaza City when she was surprised by the exchange of fire between Palestinian armed movements and Israel last week. Shrapnel dug into her spinal cord, crippling her for life.

"I was checking the status of the water canisters when I suddenly heard an explosion and the barrel fell on me," said Ms. Abou Aïcha, 48, bedridden in a hospital in Gaza. "I fell on the neighbour's house and I didn't feel anything anymore".

Employed in a nursery, this Palestinian is among 190 people injured in Gaza in five days of deadly clashes between the Israeli army and armed groups in the Gaza Strip from May 9 to 13, according to figures from the local government, directed by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Mrs Abou Aïcha does not know if the explosion which hit her was the result of a Palestinian rocket or an Israeli missile.

His family told AFP that the family home was near an Islamic Jihad base.

"I'm half paralyzed, I can't stand any movement in my body" because of the pain, she breathes.

According to her doctor, Moatassem Al-Nono, the spinal cord is so severely affected that there is no hope that she will regain the motor skills of her lower limbs.

This handicap now deprives the Abou Aïcha family of their only source of income, in a territory plagued by wars, poverty and an unemployment rate of 45%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Israel has held the Gaza Strip under blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007.

The missile and rocket battles followed the elimination of three Palestinian Islamic Jihad military commanders - accused by Israel of being responsible for anti-Israeli attacks and bombings - in Israeli air raids on the Strip. Gaza.

The IDF claims to have conducted assessments that "the anticipated collateral damage to civilians and civilian property would not exceed the expected military benefits" during this operation.

An Israeli strike on his home in Gaza City destroyed Hazem Mouhanna's "dreams" and "future".

Passionate about antiquities, this former security guard for an international organization found in the rubble only old banknotes and an old carpet.

The 62-year-old told AFP that before retiring, he used part of his salary to collect old objects, turning his house into a museum.

"A lot of people came and asked me if I wanted to sell them, but I refused," he says, sitting on a concrete block.

One evening last week, his brother received a call from the Israeli authorities asking all residents to vacate the area ahead of an imminent bombardment, he said.

"There were 50 people in that house," he said, lamenting the loss of his "antiques that (he) treasured."

The Israeli army claims to have tried to warn the inhabitants before its raids, ensuring that "the buildings were attacked only after being fully evacuated of their civilian population".

In five days of hostilities, 34 Palestinians including Islamic Jihad commanders, but also civilians including children, died, according to local authorities.

This death toll includes a Palestinian farm worker who was killed by a Palestinian rocket in Israeli territory.

An Israeli woman also lost her life after a rocket was fired from Gaza, according to the Israeli emergency services.

Mohammed Sarsour, 29, was about to get married and was putting the finishing touches to his new home when his neighbor warned him that the building was going to be bombed.

"When I went there, I found nothing. No more windows, no more rooms, no more doors," he told Deir al-Balah (center).

Mr. Sarsour, employed in a bakery, had taken out a loan to renovate the apartment, now littered with broken glass and the walls cracked or disfigured by gaping holes.

"I am devastated, I have nothing more to do with my life," he laments, explaining that he fought "for seven years" to be able to build his house.

05/22/2023 10:28:59 - Gaza (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP