The color that dominates the otherwise colorful Jabalya fruit and vegetable market is now black: the black of the smoke, the black of the rubble scattered everywhere, the charred corpses. The bombs fired by Israel claimed at least 50 lives. No one was expecting them here: this morning the market was full of people as bakers, shops and supermarkets are now empty after two days of fighting. After the attack, while waiting for ambulances, the victims’ bodies were removed by volunteers digging in the burning rubble. The less seriously injured were cared for in private homes. Everything is missing in the besieged strip, but escape is now impossible.
Some of the families who still have a home remain locked up with their dead, without showing the usual signs of mourning. Medical teams are exhausted: the injured are waiting outside hospitals, lying on beds or even benches, waiting to be taken to the emergency room. The Ministry of Health has launched a call for anyone with medical knowledge to volunteer. The situation in Jabalya is made even more dramatic by the presence of 20,000 displaced people from the nearby town of Beit Hanun on the border with Israel, who spent the night outdoors.
After the massacre everything was a rush. “Some in the neighborhood – says a witness – received news from Israel that we had to be evacuated. Also because there is no accommodation here in Jabalya: some found shelter in the garage, others were accommodated by UNRWA. After the attack, many went to the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, believing that it would not be bombed. I should have left too, but in the end I decided to stay home, even though I hear echoes of explosions in the distance. But I packed a bag with all the important things: passports, ID cards, the computer and some money. I have to make do with $300: I can’t go to the bank because it’s closed. Food is scarce and gas has run out.
What is frightening now is the Israeli siege, from which few have escaped, and the impending entry of Israeli troops from the countryside. “We are fighting against human animals and will behave accordingly,” warned Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The premises are these.
A 55-year-old Palestinian Witness lost his home when it was hit by a Jewish airstrike. He lived on the first floor and said he and his family received warnings from Israel just moments before the building was hit. “We left the tower with only the clothes on our backs,” he said, adding that he and his family now have nothing and nowhere to go.
All border crossings outside the territory are closed, except for Rafah, which is tightly controlled by Egypt. There is no longer any escape route from the besieged enclave.
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