A Palestinian man walks past damaged buildings with a suitcase on his shoulders following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
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BEIRUT — “We’re in a genocide,” Omar al-Qatta, a photographer living in Gaza, told L'Orient Today on Tuesday.
The situation "is very, very bad, I mean it's beyond description. You can't imagine how bad everything is.”
Israel has been relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip since Saturday, killing hundreds of civilians. On Monday, Israel’s defense minister ordered a “complete siege” of the already blockaded enclave, cutting off water and electricity.
At a press conference Monday, an Israeli army spokesman asserted that the parliament and civilian ministries in Gaza are legitimate targets.
"Homes are being bombed over the heads of their residents, towers are being destroyed, entire neighborhoods have had their landmarks changed [as a result of the bombing], whole areas have seen their populations displaced," Qatta told L’Orient Today.
"There is no electricity, and the internet is cut off in a very large number of areas, and if it is available, it is very slow. Yesterday, the occupation issued a decision to prevent us from accessing water. Of course, the crossings are closed, and there are no food or supply items entering the territory," he continued.
"The sounds of planes and missiles hardly ever stop, and the occupation is using various types of shells, and bombs against us," he said.
“I've witnessed many military operations, but I haven't seen anything like this barbarity and madness before,” Qatta concluded, before losing cellular signal.
This aerial photo show heavily damaged buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023. (Credit: Belal Al Sebbagh/AFP)
‘This is not like anything I’ve seen before’
"Avichay Adraee, the media spokesperson of the Israeli army, told the citizens of the Rimal area in Gaza to leave it… I live there, but I have nowhere to go," Rasha Abu Shaban, a 37-year-old humanitarian worker from Gaza, told L'Orient Today on Tuesday.
Living with her two elderly parents, Abu Shaban said that they stayed at home, while many of their neighbors fled, seeking "safety elsewhere, but realistically all of Gaza is unsafe."
"Our house was partially damaged by bombardments. I have lived through many wars before, but this is not like anything I've seen before. The block I live in was hit with 200 missiles,” she estimates. “The Rimal area is mainly houses, schools, universities and ministries," she said.
"The main telecommunications company in Gaza, is next to my house and was bombed yesterday, people in the Gaza Strip have been disconnected from the world," she said, noting that her line is from another smaller telecoms company.
A view shows smoke near houses and buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza City, October 10, 2023. (Credit: Shadi Tabatibi/Reuters)
Meanwhile, several journalists have been killed while covering the onslaught, and Israeli strikes have hit a building housing several media outlets.
“Just last night two journalists were killed. I really don't know what's happening, our house smells like gunpowder, gunpowder is everywhere, that's all I see.”
‘We support the resistance because it brings us closer to liberation’
Wesam al-Maqusi, a 38-year-old Palestinian journalist from Gaza, has been living in Lebanon for the past year to study at Beirut Arab University. “My parents and family are going through hard conditions,” back home in Gaza, Maqusi told L’Orient Today. “There is currently a shortage in food services, water cuts, and contact between families within Gaza is cut, as internet and service cuts are not functioning.”
Although his house back in Gaza has not been directly hit by the Israeli strikes, it has sustained material damages as buildings around it collapsed.
“My family are in unprotected and volatile rooms in our house,” Maqusi said.
“Their spirits are high, they support the resistance, and won’t leave despite what’s happening. The occupation is sending leaflets and messages urging people to leave Gaza at the first chance they get, but people are not answering, many won’t leave even if they had the chance. They chose their path: they are with the resistance,” he said.
“I am receiving information from cousins, neighbors, childhood friends who have been targeted,” he said.
Palestinians walk through a ravaged neighbourhood as they move to safer areas, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on October 10, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)
“The Palestinians are supporting the resistance because that’s the only way that brings us closest to liberation,” he concluded.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday that 788 Palestinians had been killed and 4,100 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave since Hamas launched its “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on Saturday.
‘We have no water, food, signal or fuel, can you imagine?’
Mohammad Abu Lobda, who lives in the city of Rafa in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, said: “I really don't know what to tell you, I have no words to describe what we are living. Our city is being flattened.”
“Some families are receiving calls from the Israeli military a few minutes before their houses are bombed, warning them that the residents will be hit. What can you do in a few minutes?” he asked.
Palestinian men carry bread through a heavily bombed street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on October 10, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)
“Nothing! You don’t have time to pack your belongings or warn your neighbors to leave too, many don’t even have time to make it out of the building before it’s struck,” he said.
“We have no water, food or fuel, can you imagine?”
Although his house has not been bombed, Abu Lobda’s relative’s house was completely destroyed in an attack on Monday night.
“They had to move in with his brother’s family. That’s how the situation is now. Many families are living together now, and standing in solidarity with one another. Israel is trying to paralyze us.”