Surviving – about everyday life in Gaza

War has been raging in the Gaza Strip for over a year. Large parts of the enclave sealed off by Israel and Egypt have been completely destroyed. About 45,000 Palestinians – around 70 per cent of them women and children – have been killed by the Israeli armed forces. Almost the entire population has fled within the Gaza Strip and most of them are living in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Food is scarce and expensive, medical care is abysmal and the security situation is extremely precarious. For many people, it is a matter of survival day after day.

While the International Court of Justice is investigating whether Israel is violating the Genocide Convention with its conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and a Hamas leader for alleged war crimes, Netanyahu's government is continuing the war against Hamas - a war that is increasingly becoming a war against the Palestinians in the eyes of many Gaza residents. At the same time, Hamas' de facto rule continues – 100 hostages are still being held.

A ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a viable post-war order that provides security guarantees for Israel and recognises the Palestinians' right to self-determination are still not in sight. While the extremist forces on the Palestinian and Israeli side benefit from this, the people in the Gaza Strip continue to be emaciated by the ongoing war and the humanitarian emergency. Children are malnourished and have not been able to go to school for months. According to a new study, over 90 per cent of children fear that death is imminent. Women are giving birth in catastrophic hygienic conditions and often in the open. Men have mostly lost their jobs and have to see where they can find food for their families. Almost everyone in the Gaza Strip is severely traumatised. 

In Germany, we generally only see fragments of this everyday life of war. To this day, foreign journalists are denied access to the Gaza Strip and Palestinians from Gaza can only leave the Strip in rare cases. We therefore want to talk to international and Palestinian experts who have recently visited Gaza about everyday life during the war and the humanitarian situation on the ground: What is everyday life like for women, men and, above all, children in the Gaza Strip? What options are there for providing food, basic necessities and medical treatment? What role does Hamas play in the everyday lives of local people? To what extent are there still educational programmes for pupils and students? How does the traumatisation of the people affect social cohesion and their view of the immediate future? What do they need most? And how can Germany contribute more effectively to improve the political and humanitarian situation on the ground? 

Welcome address: 

• Dr. Imme Scholz, Co-President of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Panel:

• Arwa Damon, Journalist and co-founder of humanitarian NGO INARA
• Dr. Dorthe Siegmund, Middle East expert and former director of hbs Ramallah 
• Dr. Abed Schokry, Professor from Gaza and former scholarship-holder of hbs
• Mahmoud Muna, Bookseller and editor of „Daybreak in Gaza"

Moderation: Bauke Baumann, Senior Programme Officer Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Iran, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

More information:      
Bauke Baumann
Senior Programme Officer Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Iran
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung 
E baumann@boell.de

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