The world for Palestinians in an already small Gaza has shrunk to the size of whatever refuge they can find: a jammed shelter, a car, the walls of a shared apartment, or floors and benches in hospital corridors. As more than 2 million people, the majority of Gaza’s population, cram into what’s left, four residents chronicled their struggle to survive with The Associated Press. Read more.
Why this matters:
- All four people followed by the AP are part of its fragile professional class, living in central areas of Gaza City which has largely been spared in past conflicts but is at the heart of this one. They now are nowhere near each other, but they chronicle the despair of the same shattered, anguished world that is closing in on them.
- While most civilians have been able to flee the combat zone in other wars like Ukraine, Palestinians in Gaza have nowhere to go. One lawyer, determined to stay in Gaza City, carries her paralyzed father from place to place to escape bombs. A U.N. worker shelters with tens of thousands of displaced, retreating to his car for a sliver of privacy. A writer is trapped between four walls and is urged by his family to stop documenting the war for their safety.
- Israel says it is dismantling Hamas, the group that unleashed a surprise attack on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Weeks of Israeli bombardment have killed more than 13,000 Palestinians, 70% of them women and children. That’s more than the number of civilians killed in 18 months of war in Ukraine.
