'We had to live apart for the sake of generational continuity' - Gaza citizens

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Nesrine, Amal al-Robayaa's sister-in-law, mixes flour with water to make bread amid the ruins of the family home destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 7, 2023 - AFP
GAZA - The Palestinian death toll now stands at 11,000, following the Israeli regime's relentless attack after attack on the Gaza Peninsula including residential areas and shelters since Oct 7.

This precarious situation forced Abu Iyad El-Aidiy, a civil servant in Gaza, to take the initiative to split his family members into three groups in the hope that, if not all, one or two could move on for the next day.

According to him, they have moved around and slept in separate locations for the 'continuity of generations' due to the continuous rocket attacks by the Israeli regime.

"There is no safe place. I have to... to avoid mass death as happened to other families. They disappear instantly from the list of the living," he said when interviewed by the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) in the midst of the city of Gaza.

"A family I know in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat disappeared all at once. They are an ordinary family. They have no connection with any colonial power propaganda.

"Some of my family members remain at home. Some are in Deir al-Balah, and others live in a broken-down bus," he added, mentioning that he also accepts if other family members want to take shelter.

For information, the Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat settlements are located 14 kilometres and 6 kilometres respectively from the center of Gaza City.

Another resident of Gaza, Muhammad Saadat, also separated his 7 children (3 boys, 4 girls) in several houses of his relatives in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

"Many others cannot do this because their family homes have also been destroyed, so they live scattered in different shelters in Deir al-Balah," he explained.

In contrast, the mother of five, Dua’ Abdel Aal, 44, insisted that she would not separate from her children.

"Whether we live together or die together. That's it," she said.

At least 10,812 Palestinians, including 4,412 children and 2,918 women, have been killed, while more than 26,000 others have been injured in the air and ground attacks by the Israeli regime since October 7.

In addition to the high casualty figures and the increasing number of displaced people, basic supplies are also dwindling for the 2.3 million residents of Gaza due to the Israeli blockade - BERNAMA