Gaza – Saba
Under scorching sunlight, displacement tents in Gaza have turned into what resembles "fabric ovens," where thousands of families live in tragic humanitarian conditions.
Sixty-year-old Na’ma Ma’rouf is one of them. She lives with thirty members of her family, most of them children, in a tattered tent by the roadside, where sweat mixes with tears amid severe shortages of water and food and a raging famine since last March.
Na’ma describes the bitter reality to *Palestine* newspaper: "We endured the winter, but we can’t bear the summer heat. Our children are melting from the heat, the elderly are crying, there’s no shade, not even a tree to shelter under."
Her infant grandson, who lacks even baby formula and diapers, has reddened skin from the intense heat while still wearing winter clothes due to the lack of summer garments under the siege.
Na’ma’s displacement journey began with the start of the genocidal war on October 7, 2023, when the Israeli enemy destroyed her home in Beit Lahia. She moved between Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah before returning once more to Gaza, which Israeli forces now threaten with a full-scale invasion. Even in displacement shelters, she was not spared from bombardment, which claimed the lives of many displaced people.
The family’s situation deteriorates daily. The grandfather suffers from severe respiratory distress and "suffocation" due to the heat, while one of her grandsons (12 years old) was shot by an Israeli drone inside the tent days ago.
Na’ma, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, has lost 40 kilograms due to hunger and heat. She says, "By God, anyone who sees my body would pity me—the heat has consumed me."
According to UNRWA, around 1.9 million Gazans—90% of the population—face catastrophic humanitarian conditions after forced displacement, with thousands of families displaced repeatedly, stripping them of any sense of safety or stability.
By July and August, vast areas of the Strip had entered a state of actual famine, according to the IPC classification, surpassing international famine thresholds for food shortages and acute malnutrition—especially in Gaza City.
International organizations, including the World Food Programme and UNICEF, have warned that "time is running out" for a comprehensive humanitarian response amid severe shortages of food, shelter, and healthcare.
The Government Media Office in Gaza announced that 143 people have died this year from malnutrition, compared to 50 in 2024 and just four in 2023. Since the start of the Israeli aggression, the death toll has reached 61,369 martyrs, with 152,850 injured.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that deaths from starvation and malnutrition—committed by the Zionist enemy against the Palestinian people—have risen to 212 martyrs, including 98 children.
Under tents torn apart by the sun, encircled by famine and bombardment, Gaza’s displaced stand on the edge of life, with each new day stealing more of their strength and hope. Yet they remain unbroken.