Ukrainians In Gaza 'No Food And No Electricity. We Have The Same Problems Now'

For more than a decade, Natalya Hassoumi's family in Ukraine have worried about her safety in the Gaza Strip; they have been unable to reach her for days at a time while airstrikes have pummelled the Palestinian territory. Now it is Hassoumi's turn to worry: she has not heard from her parents and siblings in Russian-occupied Kherson for three weeks.

- Bethan McKernan, Hazem Baloushain

"I think the Russians must be making people switch to using Russian networks and sim cards, but I don't know what's happening," the 41-year-old doctor said. "It's very hard not knowing."

Hassoumi is one of about 830 Ukrainian-born people in Gaza, which according to community leaders is the largest population of foreigners living in the blockaded coastal zone. Having lived through three rounds of war between Israel and Hamas, the group in control of Gaza, the endocrinologist is acutely awa of what her family in Kherson is facing.

"I never thought that war could happen in Ukraine," Hassoumi said at the house in Beit Lahia she has shared with husband Iyad and the couple's three young sons since 2011. "No food, no electricity ...Gaza and Ukraine have the same problems now."