Palestinian women on life in the Gaza Strip. "Everything around is in ruins"

The Gaza Strip is referred to as the "largest prison in the world". In the blockaded land, sea, and air, living in a strip that's about 5.5 miles wide and 24.8 miles long, there live over 2 million Palestinians. - Don't let us die - pleads Salma Shurrab, a resident of the Gaza Strip, in a conversation with Wirtualna Polska.

- Last Friday, I was preparing a work plan for the next week. I already know that everything I wrote down will never come true - says a desperate Salma, showing a notebook with notes, while bombs can be heard falling nearby in the background.

The Palestinian woman has lived in the city of Gaza since birth. She has witnessed many Israeli attacks on the city, but, as she says, the current aggression is being conducted particularly brutally.

Although her emotions are understandable, we cannot forget that it was Israel that was attacked. Its actions are a response to the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7. The strike resulted in the largest number of Israeli fatalities since 1973, when the Jewish state fought a war with the Syrian-Egyptian coalition.

Israel has announced large-scale retaliation and appealed to the residents of Gaza for evacuation.

- Everything around is in ruins. The university building where I studied dentistry, the companies where I worked. I'm glad I still have a roof over my head, and my relatives are still alive. My friends weren't so lucky. They lost their homes and family members. However, I know that if we survive this, we won't have a real life in Gaza anymore - she describes.

Salma doubts whether she will survive this time. There are no safe spaces in the Gaza Strip where she could take shelter with her loved ones.

- They want us to get stuck in this cage. We have no shelters, we have no drinking water or any to wash ourselves with. We have been cut off from electricity and the servers that connected us to the world through the internet have been bombed - confesses.

Let's remember that Europe and the western world are standing in solidarity with Israel. They condemn the aggressor's actions. - Hamas is hiding behind civilians. They have placed their main headquarters where there are civilians and their buildings. I am convinced that the Israelis will do everything in their power to avoid killing innocent civilians - said US President John Biden.

Despite the lack of escape options, the Palestinian woman and her family attempted to evacuate during an Israeli attack. - I was ready to leave my room, home, and all the memories associated with this place. It turned out that the place we were heading to was not safe enough to stay. With tears of helplessness in our eyes, we returned to the apartment. If I die, it will happen in my home - she states with a calm, assertive voice.

Salm's nights are sleepless. The girl moves her bed several times in search of the safest place to rest. She also has a bag prepared with basic things in case of another evacuation. - I don't believe that these actions will allow me to survive, but it's the only thing I can do now - she says.

Every time the Palestinian woman closes her eyes, she sees flashing lights. The noise of falling bombs, destroying everything around, is echoed by the screams of terrified neighbors. "When I hear they're evacuating, I wonder if I should also run or stay here and wait for death," she says. "This aggression must end. We are not just more numbers in the statistics, but people of flesh and blood who have the right to live," she concludes.

The victims of the conflict are on both sides.

Joanna Sozańska, an expert on the WANA region from the European Democracy Youth Network, emphasizes that cutting off the Gaza Strip from electricity, food supplies, water, fuel, and blocking the possibility of civilian evacuation is undoubtedly a violation of international law.

As indicated, the International Committee of the Red Cross warns that hospitals in the Gaza Strip may quickly turn into mortuaries due to the loss of electricity access. In addition, the organization Human Rights Watch confirmed the use of white phosphorus, a strongly poisonous substance, by the Israeli military against civilians.

The Prime Minister of Israel announced that his country will not forget what Hamas has done. According to Israeli officials, there are documents proving that Hamas systematically collected intelligence on every kibbutz near the border with the Gaza Strip and developed separate attack plans for every village. These plans included clear guidelines for killing civilians, including women and children.

The suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip is also sadly observed by Sara Omar. She is a Palestinian from the West Bank who lives in the United States. - The torment of our nation has been going on for 75 years, but now it's worse than ever - she describes.

Sara's best friend has a family in the Gaza Strip. All his relatives are alive, but their family home has been leveled to the ground. They have nowhere to go because nowhere is safe anymore. - The schools set up by the UN, which had been serving as shelters, were bombed by Israeli forces, so people are fleeing to hospitals. But even those will likely be destroyed soon - he explains.

As she says, even before the attack on October 7th, when she wanted to visit her family in the West Bank, she had to go through five military checkpoints to move from one place to another.

Sara indicates that the Palestinians want not just peace, but also freedom. - We want to regain our lands, our state, to live fully freely. We want to mourn the death of our brothers and sisters in peace. We finally want to grow, to move freely around the country. Finally, we want to be treated equally with other nations, not like a worse sort of people - she appeals.

Joanna Sozańska emphasizes that the victims of the ongoing conflict are and will be civilians on both sides - Palestinian and Israeli, and any armed response aimed at civilians is worthy of condemnation.

- Both Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations have stated that for years, all violations against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, as well as by some within Israel itself, constitute a crime against humanity - explains.

It should be noted that aggression is not one-sided, and innocent people suffer because of it. And it all started a long time ago.

- Another blockade by Israel against Palestinian territory will lead to an escalation of the crisis. The armed response of Hamas is called genocide, while the ongoing dehumanization and killing of Palestinians for decades is termed as a conflict. A conflict assumes that both sides have equal forces and potential for defense, whereas genocide is a manifestation of exerting influence using power on a defenseless group - summarizes the expert.