Reem al-Souri, an employee at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), gave her testimony on 15 February 2024.

On 13 October 2023, we left our house due to the Israeli relentless bombardment and after receiving a text message from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) ordering us to evacuate from Gaza and northern Gaza to the south.  We took the hardest decision in our life; we had to choose between evacuating to the south or staying in Gaza City given the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip. We eventually decided to remain in Gaza, refusing to evacuate to the south, where we had no shelter and for fear of Israel’s plans of mass forced displacement and emigration; thus, we insisted on staying in Gaza.

I have sought shelter along with my husband and children in the Holy Family Church in al-Zaytoun neighborhood, while the rest of my relatives had sought shelter in the St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Churchin the same neighborhood. We have gone through very difficult times due to the intense bombardment and constantly feeling unsafe as there is no safe place Gaza.

At approximately 22:00, on 19 October 2023, the Israeli bombardment intensified on the neighborhood, and the hall of St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church, which was only 100 meters away from us, was bombed. I called my relatives there to know what happened and they told me that one of the church’s buildings was directly bombed without any warning, inflicting a large number of fatalities and injuries, while others were trapped under the rubble, not knowing who was exactly under the rubble.

Despite the dangerous situation, several young men from our church went to help with the rescue, and we later knew the names of those killed and injured. It was a very tough day after losing 18 of our relatives and beloved ones, including children, may they rest in peace. There were also many others injured. 

In that bombing, an entire family was wiped from the civil registry and was comprised of ‘Abed al-Nour al-Souri, his wife Viola Grace al-‘Amash (al-Souri), and their little daughter, ‘Alia ‘Abed al-Nour al-Souri, in addition to the family of Tareq Sami al-Souri, who was killed with his wife Liza Waleed al-Souri and their little son ‘Issa Tareq al-Souri.  Moreover, children from the same family were killed namely Suhail, Majd and Juli Ramez al-Souri, while only their parents survived. Also, Yara Grace al-‘Amash (al-Souri) and her two children George and Juliet Subhi al-Souri were killed in the bombing, leaving the father and husband Subhi alone sustaining several fractures. Also, among those killed was an elderly woman namely Eleen Helmi Tarazi, Marwan Saleem Tarazi and his wife Nahed Tarazi, Dr. Suliman Jameel Tarazi, a girl namely Sanaa ‘Atallah al-‘Amash, and the son of the church’s keeper, waseem ‘Arafat ‘Akilah. 

The next day, the funeral was held in the church’s yard and we were shocked by the utterly horrific scene, the building which sheltered around 90 persons was a pile of rubble and was leaning to the north against the church wall, preventing the complete collapse of the building and inflicting further casualties. I cannot describe how I felt seeing their dead bodies lying on the ground and wrapped in white shrouds amid the priest performing prayers, a heart-wrenching scene that have never witnessed in that peaceful church.  May Allah have mercy upon the martyrs and protect all my people. Moreover, about a month later, Eva Saleem Tarazi, succumbed to her injury. 

The economic situation

Nearly four months of Israel’s war in Gaza, the markets ran out of necessary food supplies leading to skyrocketing prices as when you go to the market, you can only find some canned food, which are often expired. And if essential goods can be found, they will be in extremely high prices.

Meanwhile for potable water, you have to stand in long lines for hours to fill a 20-liter gallon of water and pay 5 shekels for it. Regarding water for bath and household, you have to wait in lines in front of mosques and places that have a water well amid no access to water taken from pipe networks after IOF destroyed the infrastructure, rendering municipalities incapable of delivering water to houses.

Moreover, flour to be found in Gaza now sell at astronomical prices of up to 1500 shekels for a 25-kg bag of flour, which used to be sold for only 60 shekels before the war. This has forced Gazans to replace flour with barley and corn and to grind breadcrumbs and even animal fodder to make bread.

For the cooking gas, people besieged in northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, had consumed all cooking gas they had in their own houses and houses of their neighbors and relatives who were displaced to the south. There are also no gas stations that IOF had destroyed amid blocking the entry of all types of fuel. The price of a 12-kg gas cylinder has increased tenfold costing 700 shekels. As for the rest fuel types, the price of a liter of gasoline ranges between 40 to 50 shekels while a liter of diesel costs 35 shekels, recording an eightfold increase.

As for foodstuffs and canned goods, there is no pasta at all, and a can of foul cost you 14 shekels, which was about 2 shekels before the war, as well as canned chickpeas. You may find one or two cans of peas or beans but in very high prices, while the rest of the canned food available is either chopped olives, tomato sauce, or mushroom.

For dried legumes, 1 kg of dried foul costs 30 shekels, 1 kg of chickpeas is 25 shekels, and 1 kg of crushed lentils is 35 shekels, while brown lentil is not available at all. As for rice, 1 kg of poor-quality rice costs 45 shekels, while 1 kg of a short-grain rice costs 55 shekels.

Moreover, vegetables and fruits are not available, but you can find some citrus fruits as Gaza is famous for growing lemons, oranges, and Valencia orange. Meanwhile, 1 kg of tomato costs 35 shekels and if found, they are small, green and unripe, while the price of 1 kg of potatoes is 25 shekels. These vegetables used to be in affordable prices that can be easily bought by the rich and poor but nowadays, even rich people cannot afford buying them as they have become very expensive.

With regard to detergents, they have become a luxury and people are trying to replace them with basic needs. For example, the price of toilet paper bag is 50 shekels while the prices of detergents have become double the price.

All these items can be bought by a citizen who has a salary or has found a job opportunity through making a small stall to support his family. Even employees can hardly get their salaries after banks and ATMs had been destroyed, forcing them to resort to merchants to get their salaries and pay 10% in return. As for persons who have no source of income, they had become beggars or persons looking for any plants growing in empty lands or cemeteries to sell such as mallow leaf, chard, sorrel and etc.

This is an overview of Gaza’s market status explicitly revealing the suffering of people in Gaza City and northern Gaza as they daily spend several hours searching for food to feed their families. People wake up in the early morning to go out in search of firewood, which has become an alternative for cooking gas, and to fill a gallon of potable water or to fill the water tank for household purposes, such as cooking, cleaning and bathing. People may also spend all the day looking for 1 kg of brown flour, corn, or barley to make some bread.

The last thing I would like to mention is that most Gazans have become displaced within their own city, as only few still lives in their own houses. For example, no one lives in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, as its residents had sought refuge in schools and friends’ houses in eastern Gaza city. Also, many residents of eastern Gaza had fled to the west to for several months in houses whose residents had left out. People in Gaza also move from one area to another according to the IOF’s daily attacks, as if an area is targeted, its residents evacuate to another. They have been displaced several times living in houses not of their own, and their houses became home to others. People also took refuge in schools, where there is no access to life essentials and that are ill-equipped shelters for a large number of people seeking safety.