In a small, worn makeshift shop in Deir el-BalahOm Tamer al-Nimnim sits with his three daughters and three grandchildren. This fragile shelter has been their only home for more than a year, since they were forcibly displaced from their home in Jabalia, northern Gaza, amid intense Israeli shelling.
After 14 months of relentless offensive and displacement, Nimnim has gone from weighing 78 kilos to less than 50. At 65 years old, he regrets having survived the attacks on northern Gaza and continuing to suffer the consequences of the violence. “Every morning I wake up and say, ‘I wish they had killed us in the north instead of going through what we’re going through now.’ Do you see how I am? It wasn’t like that. Everyone who sees me now is surprised because I have changed a lot in the last few months,” explains Nimnim.
“It’s not just lack of food that causes this. In addition to the food shortage, this live in this storeendure heat and cold, constant worry, anxiety and the lack of medical care. I used to live in a three-story house. Today, I live in this place that is not even suitable for dogs to live in,” laments the Gazan who describes slow death What it means to live in Gaza beyond the bombs.
For months, the displaced persons camp where she and her family sought refuge lacked bathrooms, so they had to relieve themselves in buckets.
“When we arrived here, and for several months, there was not even a bathroom available in the camp. We had to use a bucket. Can you imagine that? I spent two weeks not knowing how to handle using a bucket. I am 65 years old; “I never imagined or saw anything like what we are experiencing today.”
“The situation is bad for everyone, young and old, but For older people it is much worse. Where is the West that boasts of defending the rights of the elderly? “We are being punished for something we did not do.”
The displaced widow, who lost a daughter and son-in-law in an Israeli bombing raid in northern Gaza, explained that she sometimes has to scold her one-year-old granddaughter when she wakes up crying for food. “We can’t do anything about it. She wakes up and cries for hours, until neighbors in nearby stores complain about the noise. And since we don’t have even a piece of bread to give him, “we painfully resort to scolding him to stop crying,” Nimnim said.
The cold winter nights and, previously, the summer heat prevent you from sleeping normally. “I’ve been living in tents for over a year and I still haven’t gotten used to it. I am 65 years old and all I wanted at this age was to live in a warm home, feeling safe. I never imagined that, at this age, I would be living in a tent, praying for just a piece of bread.”
By mid-2023, older people made up about 3% of the population of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In the midst of the offensive, these elderly survivors have borne the brunt of the crisis, facing hunger, severe healthcare shortages and constant forced displacements.
Medical treatment is a ‘luxury’
Next to Nimnim’s tent lives the Eyadah family, also forcibly displaced from northern Gaza. His grandfather, Husni Muhammed Eyadah, have suffered deep vein thrombosis on his legs since the offensive began, one of which occurred after his son was killed in a Israeli bombing in the north.
“I’m noticing how my health is deteriorating day by day and I can’t do anything about it. The last time I had the thrombus, they took me to al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, and we had to wait two hours until they treated me,” explains Eyadah, 68 years old. “Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the increasing number of victims and in these situations the medical treatment critical for the elderly It becomes a luxury.”
As of November 5, only 17 of the 36 hospitals in the Strip remained partially operational. Eyadah added that for more than a year, he has only eaten canned food, which has aggravated his hypertension and deteriorated his overall health.
“The international aid we receive consists mainly of canned food, while the soup kitchens, on which we mainly depend for lunch, serve mostly canned cooked rice or beans. Of course, We haven’t eaten meat in over a year, which leaves us without essential sources to maintain our health.”
“My biggest fear is being forced to flee this shelter again. I have changed a lot since I ran away from home in October 2023. Back then, I was healthy and better able to run or walk long distances seeking shelter. But now I can barely walk from tent to tent in this camp; My health has worsened drastically. “I’m too old for all this.”
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