Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza Strip – As Imtithal, a mom of six, stokes the wooden hearth she has constructed as much as bake bread for her household, her ideas take her again to her typical morning routine at dwelling within the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza, earlier than the relentless Israeli bombardment started on the enclave on October 7.
Imtithal and her household have been compelled to flee to the Maghazi camp within the centre of the Gaza Strip after Israeli forces ordered civilians to evacuate northern Gaza and transfer south within the early days of the struggle. She and her household may see that there was a grave hazard that the Israeli bombing may wipe out whole areas in north and west Gaza.
She is grateful that they did. Quickly after they left, their home was badly broken in a bombing on their neighbourhood.
“My house was severely damaged due to a violent Israeli bombing next to it,” Imtithal says. “Our neighbour, Saleem, who works for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, sent me videos showing the extent of the destruction that befell my house. I feel very sad and do not know whether it is fit for habitation after today or not.”
To deal with the concern, Imtithal takes consolation within the recollections of her secure, regular routine earlier than the struggle started. She would get up at daybreak for Fajr prayers. Then, she would wake her youthful youngsters, Hammoud, 13, and Nour, 16, to prepare for college.
“I always enjoyed making their breakfast and lunch boxes. I would make sure I put their favourite foods in there,” she remembers.
The morning’s work could be removed from over but.
A small quantity of ‘me time’
“Then, it’s time for my husband and older sons to go to work,” she says. “I make their coffee, but my daughter, Aseel, likes fresh juice, so I make that too while we talk about my plans for the day.”
As soon as they have been all fed, able to go and, lastly, out of the door, it will be Imtithal’s “me time”.
“I go to the gym and spend about two hours exercising with my friends,” she says. After that, she would go dwelling to drink one thing sizzling together with her neighbour, Sarah.
Subsequent, Imtithal says, she prepares lunch, spends a little bit of time studying books on the sciences of the Quran, and logs on for her spiritual classes by an academy that she joins by way of Zoom.
Lastly, it will be time for the acquainted household chaos to start once more.
“After my children return from their schools and work, I spend quality time with them, listening to their stories, following up on schoolwork with my son, Hammoud, and then preparing him to go to the boxing club, which he enjoys spending time in.”
Imtithal used to name her son Adham, who lives in the USA, every single day to verify in on him as properly. However, because the bombing started, she has been unable to speak with him a lot. Israel’s blockade on gasoline means electrical energy and the web have been severely restricted – usually non-existent – within the Gaza Strip. She has barely managed a couple of minutes with him on the telephone each few days.
‘I couldn’t even say goodbye’
As soon as such a traditional, typically even mundane, a part of her day, these are the issues Imtithal says she longs for now.
“I miss being at dwelling and quietly practising my easy day by day routine.
“Daily household tasks were not as arduous as they are today. Now, I wash the laundry in buckets with very small amounts of water when I used to use an automatic washing machine. I also struggle to prepare food due to the lack of cooking gas, so we resort to cooking food over a wood fire now.”
Imtithal provides: “The situation in Gaza is tragic. I cannot communicate with my sisters, nor can I visit them. I used to go out for walks with them constantly. Even the entertainment places we used to go have all been bombed.”
Imtithal worries terribly concerning the household and buddies she has been separated from in her neighborhood.
Israeli planes bombed her cousin’s home, killing her. She says: “I couldn’t even say goodbye to her! I can’t leave the refugee house I’m in. Her family couldn’t even hold a funeral for her, and they told me that they took her to bury her using their own car.”
She additionally worries significantly concerning the toll this struggle is taking over her household.
“Everything is exhausting us. What is happening in Gaza is genocide. I miss the spirit of my young son. I am keen to take care of his mental health due to the harsh situation in the Gaza Strip. I find him sitting alone a lot, so I try to make him relax and listen to everything that is on his mind and try to reassure him.”
(This account was written by Imtithal’s daughter, Aseel.)
