Gaza: Displaced residents seek refuge amid Israeli strikes

[Video transcript]
This is where the Tanboura family call home — but only for now. Theirs is one of thousands of tents near the beach in central Gaza.  
They were forced to leave their real home in northern Gaza last October. 
After Hamas-led militants from Gaza brutally attacked southern Israeli communities, Israel retaliated with an air offensive and later a ground invasion. 
Areej, her husband Abdul Salam and their grandchildren have been on the move for the past 12 months, like tens of thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza.
Areej Rushdi Tanboura, displaced Gaza resident: “We were displaced by the bombing. Wherever we went, there were massacres. We would leave one place struck by tragedy, only to arrive at another place where a new bombing unfolded. Every place we fled to became another scene of devastation.”  
They sought shelter in several schools in northern Gaza, then fled south to central Gaza, to Rafah, to Khan Younis, and back to the center. They are among the almost 90% of Gaza’s 2.2 million people forcibly displaced by war. 
The family is now dispersed across Gaza. Areej says she never expected to end up living in a tent. They have no income and depend on aid and charity. The children no longer have schooling and help as much as they can. 
 
Areej Rushdi Tanboura, displaced Gaza resident: “Now, instead of carrying school bags, they carry water. When I see my children or others’ children do this, I feel the pain deeply.”  
Fear of airstrikes is a constant. Both have lost close family members in such attacks. Areej says she lost her sister in an airstrike last October.
 
Areej Rushdi Tanboura, displaced Gaza resident: “At midnight, we were screaming, not knowing who had died or who had survived. By morning, they told us we couldn’t say goodbye to our loved ones because their bodies were in such a terrible state. I never got to say goodbye to my sister or her children. We buried them all — eleven children, five women, and the men. The loss of my sister and her family has affected me deeply.” 
 
Abdul Salam Tanboura, displaced Gaza resident: “I lost my brother and his daughters when their tent was bombed near the UNRWA warehouses. They were all killed, his son was injured by shrapnel. I buried my brother in Rafah and, on the same day, fled with my family.”  
Areej fears she may never be allowed to return to her home in northern Gaza. The war has not only destroyed vast areas of the territory, but has also effectively divided it into north and south. The return of displaced people to the north is part of the ceasefire negotiations, which have so far failed. 
 
Areej Rushdi Tanboura, displaced Gaza resident: “I have a boy and two girls in the north and I just want to hug them. The most important thing is to hold my children again. I’m afraid I will die before I get to embrace my son and daughters. I miss them so much. I can’t breathe, it makes me feel sick, because I am far away from them.”
It is a simple wish. But while Gaza was no stranger to war in the past, this is the longest its people have endured such unremitting violence, death and destruction — with no end in sight.