For Almaza Owda, in Gaza's besieged second city of Khan Younis, thoughts have turned to how she might die. Last Thursday night, four days into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assault on the southern city, Owda - who is living in a tent in the grounds of a UN school turned shelter - described her feelings.
"I keep asking myself how will I die?" Owda posted on social media. "Is it possible that shrapnel will hit me in the head and I die straight away? Maybe it penetrates the tent while I am sleeping and enters my body and I die from the bleeding. What might happen? There are a thousand scenarios in my head right now.
"The bombardment is very, very violent and intense nearby. The clashes never stop. [We're] cold, hungry, scared, stressed, tired. They bombarded around us with tank shells and all the shrapnel fell on us."
In the days since the ceasefire for hostages, deal broke down on 1 December and the IDF entered the third phase of its off ensive against Hamas, the war has swept over Khan Younis and its surrounding towns. It began early last week as an entire Israeli division launched its assault, surrounding and then entering the city.
While tens of thousands have been displaced further south towards Rafah – some for the second and third time in the war – those trapped inside Khan Younis have described desperate conditions in a city that was once home to 400,000.
With a number of neighbourhoods reduced to rubble by the Israeli military’s bombing even before the IDF launched the latest phase of its ground offensive, and with little fuel available, some residents have taken to using donkey carts to traverse the ruins.
This story is from the December 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
