‘They are very weak, they're thin, their minds have stopped': Stranded fathers' anguish over children in Gaza
Gaza
's northern tip, but it may as well be the other side of the world.
In the hot
Palestinian
oasis city of Jericho, he fields constant calls from his three hungry children in the Palestinian enclave.
'Imagine as a father receiving this call,' he says, pain visible on his face. 'For two years our daughters received no kind of education. They are very weak, they're thin, their minds stopped ... They can't think due to malnutrition,' Ahmed continues.
'Two million people are sleeping starving [in Gaza]. You cannot find sugary beverages or coffee, even the water is polluted. There are a number of people sleeping in the streets, even tents are not available. You can't use the toilet because the places are too crowded.'
The 33-year-old was one of three Gazan labourers who met The Irish Times in Jericho, where they have been stuck for nearly two years.
They spoke in the office of the Palestinian Agricultural Development Association (Parc), where they receive some support, and asked that only their first names be published for safety reasons. They agreed to the interview because they wanted to highlight the conditions their families are experiencing in Gaza.
When the Hamas-led attacks happened on October 7th, 2023, there were thought to be thousands of Gazan labourers inside
Israel
. Their permits were cancelled, and while thousands were arrested and sent back to Gaza – some of whom alleged they were tortured – others say they were forced to go to the occupied West Bank and locked out of Gaza completely.
Hundreds ended up in Jericho, where they have waited nearly 22 months as the suffering back home mounts. Some live in a remote shelter on a Palestinian security forces training base, while others rent rooms or stay with relatives. Abed (33) – who has two sons and a daughter in Gaza – lives in a refugee camp.
'If I get the chance I'd go back to Gaza and stay there,' says Ismail (30).
Ahmed – whose wife and three children are in Gaza – said the men could be arrested at a checkpoint for even trying to leave Jericho and locked up in an Israeli prison for an indefinite period. Yet staying in Jericho is a form of torture for him too.
His two daughters – aged eight and 10 – were injured by shrapnel during the war. All of the three men's homes were destroyed and their families live in tents with 'high temperatures, insects everywhere, no clean water', Ahmed says. He points at a tissue packet in front of him: 'for example, this tissue is not available in Gaza.'
Contact can be difficult. 'Some periods the whole region is blacked out from communication and sometimes you have to try many times,' he says.
The men send money, but transfer fees can be up to 50 per cent. Prices for food and other supplies have skyrocketed – that is if they are even available. Farming work in Jericho is seasonal, in an area where temperatures topped 40 degrees this month. When there is employment, the men earn about 100 shekels (€26) a day.
'My daughter is daily on a group call asking when am I coming back, blaming me,' says Ahmed. '[My children] think I ran away. I say 'inshallah' [God willing]. I explained [what happened] many times and they still just blame me. They are frustrated, they are children. I explain that I'm trying to protect them, provide them with food, with money. I just try to stop my feelings from exploding.'
Some Gazans in Jericho have learned about the deaths of close family members remotely. As the death toll in the enclave approaches 60,000, according to Gazan authorities, emergency appeals are being issued. This week, more than 100 aid organisations said supplies are 'totally depleted', while the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called this a man-made mass starvation.
Ismail calls the current US and Israel-backed aid distribution system a 'death trap'. According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to access
food
.
A Palestinian man on Wednesday inspects the damage around a house hit in an Israeli strike a day earlier in western Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Omar Al-Qatta/AFP via Getty Images
'The Israelis target everyone, this is a genocide,' says Ahmed, who called for countries to boycott Israeli goods and 'support the Palestinians in their global efforts and inside the UN'.
Israel has denied accusations of genocide, for which it is facing a case at the
International Court of Justice
.
Hearing about Ireland's proposed
Occupied Territories Bill
, Ahmed says he supports it as 'if you harm their economy they will review their policies'.
Ismail also says he would like to see it introduced because 'I want to feel there's someone with us'.
Ahmed's favourite memories of Gaza, from before 2023, involved the 'simple life', the sea and family gatherings. Now, many of the places he spent three decades in have been ruined.
'There's no future, the whole of Gaza is destroyed, where is the future?' he asks. 'Israeli policies are meant to displace the people. I hope I can get back but If I have any opportunity [to go abroad] I'd go.'
He said he hopes a ceasefire will happen 'to meet basic needs: food, shelter, water. Then we can think about how to reconstruct our homes, streets. Even if the war continues, allow aid in.'
'To the international community as a whole: it's good if you can do anything to protect the Palestinian people,' adds Ismail, calling again for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza immediately. 'The images coming out of Gaza of dead children show what is happening.'
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