7 January 2009
Today we had a few hours of calm. For three hours we could deliver aid without the worry of bombardment.
It was a busy day. Islamic Relief went to the Paediatric Hospital to provide them with medical disposables such as surgical sets, bandages and scissors amongst other items which are continuously required. We also provided six UN shelters with hygiene kits and blankets.
But during this time of calm we were also given a deeper insight into the misery on the streets of Gaza.
We visited a building near the ICRC office in Gaza where 200 people were sheltering. Many of the people there asked me about safe shelter but I had no answer. Despite the temporary halt in the bombing there were no smiling faces – just sadness and fear.
In one shelter I met a man called Abu Mohamed. He had been forced to leave his home and was desperate to return. “I refuse to go to a UN school as it is unsafe. Yesterday a school was hit and more than 40 were killed. I can’t let my family and relatives be killed. I want all this to stop and to go back home safely,” he said.
I also met a 12-year-old girl named Fatima. She had fled with 12 members of her family to be in a UN school. Her home was partially destroyed after her neighbours house was bombed. Along with other children she didn’t feel safe but was trying her best to block out the bombing by playing with her cousins in the school yard. Despite the dangers, it seems children will always be children.