GAZA CITY, Palestine Palestinians in the ravaged Shejaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City face immense difficulties trying to survive amid a lack of basic services, food shortages, a water crisis and infrastructure destruction as the Israeli onslaught enters its 10th month. Abu Mohammad Hajila, 44, sits on the rubble of a destroyed residential building in the neighborhood, contemplating the extensive damage caused by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations since the beginning of the assault on the Gaza Strip. With his wife, Samaher Hajila, 40, he gathers wood and paper to start a fire, salvaging what he can from the remains to use in their daily lives.
The food shortage crisis in Gaza City and northern Gaza is worsening, threatening lives due to the ongoing war amid an intensified Israeli blockade, which limits the already scarce supplies. From June 28 to July 10, the Israeli army conducted a ground operation in Shejaiya, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian casualties and massive destruction. On July 11, Gaza’s Civil Defense declared the area an “uninhabitable disaster zone.
” Facing death “Our lives are filled with fear; we live under the constant threat of death,” said Mohammad Hajila. He and his family suffer from severe shortages of food, medicine and water. “Hunger is prevalent in the area, and we suffer from psychological pressure, stress, and lack of water, food, and medicine,” he said.
He explains that his wife developed splenomegaly -- an enlargement.