A day of bombing in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp

Gaza: Writer Asmaa Tayeh considers how her sense of security has been destroyed by the Israeli aircraft bombardment while she is in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.

Israeli missiles struck the Jabalia refugee camp, located north of Gaza City, amid heavy artillery on Monday at noon (9:00 GMT), causing unspeakable misery for the camp’s residents.

Asmaa Tayeh, a young writer residing in the camp, has become used to hearing rockets in the vicinity following a surprise attack that led Israel to declare war on Hamas on Saturday.

However, she was not prepared for her home to become the focus of an attack. Jabalia, whose voice was shaking from fright, told Al Jazeera that she “could hardly keep herself calm” when bombs began to rain on her.

She remarked, “This time was actually the closest to my house and the loudest.” For a brief moment, I believed our neighbor’s house had been struck.

Tayeh ran to the window to see how close the strike was and whether her home was damaged because the explosion’s force rocked the entire settlement.

Tayeh stated, “I was laying on my bed and writing to an outside friend who had texted to check up on me.” All I could say to him after the crazy raids was: Thank God I’m still alive.”

Though she could not see the direct effects of the strikes right away, she would soon realize how disastrous they would be.

Tayeh and her neighbors discovered that the attack had mostly affected the heart of Jabalia’s thriving market when news stories began to circulate. Tayeh said we discovered that dozens of people were killed when the air strike struck.

Emergency cars rushed to the market following the explosions of bombs, filling the air with the sound of sirens.

“Sounds of ambulances and cars filled the area,” Tayeh remembered. The voices of “people screaming and rushing to the bombing area” were, however, far more penetrating.

Every death in such a small town, where everyone knows everyone else, can cause widespread grief. However, Tayeh hasn’t had much time to grieve. She took action after the bombing.

Tayeh said, at that point, I hurried to get my bags ready to leave, just in case. Like those who were slain mere minutes ago, death appears closer, yet there is nothing I can do about it.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) operates three schools in the camp, which has been transformed into shelters for hundreds of displaced families. In addition, the camp is highly populated.

The number of people who died during the aerial bombardment was partly due to the cramped conditions in the camp.

Despite not being hurt during the strike, Tayeh and her family’s illusion of security has been dashed. Tayeh is engrossed in the news and can’t stop looking through lists of the injured and deceased to see if friends and relatives are included.

“Fortunately, we are still here and are staying in our home, but, like everyone else in Gaza, we don’t feel safe at all,” she said to Al Jazeera.

She also stated that there will be dangers beyond the current conflict.

“For me,” she stated, “I believe we will never be safe even after the war is over. In fact, I will never feel free as long as Palestine is occupied and its people terrorized.”

Many Palestinians who have suffered decades of strife and occupation can relate to Tayeh’s feelings.

They cling to their fortitude, their optimism for a better future, and their steadfast belief in their right to live in peace on their ancestral land despite the destruction that surrounds them.

There’s still no clear resolution in sight.

Read more at News Intercept:

Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel Leaves Hundreds Dead