Najla Shawa and her family are safe for now after fleeing their home in Gaza City. But she’s worried she may never be able to return. Shawa is a Gaza native who works for the international aid group Oxfam. She is sheltering with her husband, two daughters and about 50 others at a compound in Zawaida.
FILE - Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million people in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion, on Oct. 13, 2023. Najla Shawa and her family are safe for now after fleeing their home in Gaza City, but she’s worried she may never be able to return.
“I was talking to someone why didn’t you decide to stay? ... I’m in Gaza because I want to be in Gaza. I mean, in general, with my family. But at the same time, I’m going to see myself and my daughters hurt. So if there’s any chance I can prevent that, I would.’’ About 500,000 people, almost a quarter of Gaza’s population, are sheltering in U.N. schools and other facilities across the territory, according to the U.N. refugee agency. The Gaza Health Ministry said that 2,450 Palestinians have been killed and 9,200 others wounded during a week of Israeli airstrikes that have razed apartment buildings, offices and mosques.
“We don’t want to be refugees again,’’ Shawa said. “But to what extent can you bear the suffering, can you bear that possibility of even losing your life?’’“Losing our lives, it’s OK, it’s God’s will,” she said. “But the suffering, seeing our kids torn or severely injured, etc., not being able to treat them, to hospitalize them. It’s really just beyond thinking.”
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