Civilians in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated enclave of 2.3 million people, have been living in fear since Israel launched air strikes five days ago in retaliation to a rocket barrage by Hamas. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed as of Thursday morning, according to health officials in Gaza, who didn't say how many of them were civilians. A large number of the population is on the move but has nowhere to go, with both Israel and Egypt closing their doors.
"You'd hear the sound in the distance, and then you'd feel it shaking the house. For now, all we can do is wait and pray," says Aisha Abu Daqqa, a resident of the Gaza Strip, of the airstrikes.
Gaza resident Mazen Mohammad, 38, said his terrified family spent the night huddled together as explosions shook the area, before emerging in the morning.
"We felt like we were in a ghost town as if we were the only survivors," Mohammad told AFP.
Concern is rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the long-blockaded Palestinian enclave, where Israel has now imposed a total siege, cutting off water, food, and energy supplies.
The enclave's sole power plant shut down yesterday after running out of fuel, Gaza's electricity provider said. Videos circulating on social media show residents using car batteries to charge their phones.
Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital is overwhelmed with the high number of patients coming in and is rapidly running out of medical supplies, including oxygen, according to the Ministry of health.
Canned food is quickly disappearing from stores as people rush to stockpile supplies. The only slaughterhouse in the territory is closed. Vegetables, grown near the border, are in short supply.
In its crackdown against Hamas in 2007, Israel imposed sweeping restrictions on the lives of Gaza residents, virtually blocking every opportunity and route to escape.
Israel has now announced a complete siege of Gaza, effectively blocking electricity, food, and water supply, one can only imagine how life would be for residents of the narrow strip, caught in the crossfire of warring powers.
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