IN a dim basement in the once-upscale Rimal district of Gaza City, Noor Abu Hassira listens to the buzzing of drones and the thunder of nearby airstrikes, knowing the war is drawing closer. She cannot flee. An airstrike destroyed her home and shattered her body, leaving her with severe leg, back and shoulder injuries. She is now mostly bedridden.
“It feels like we’re just waiting to die, I don’t really care that much anymore,” she wrote in a message.
AP reported on Wednesday that she is sheltering with her three daughters — Jouri, Maria and Maha — in her parents’ basement, where she cannot cook, bathe or manage basic needs without help. They are among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in northern Gaza, despite Israel’s warnings to evacuate.
Abu Hassira says she cannot afford the cost of escape. She estimates it would take over US\$2,000 to secure a truck south and a tent in one of the displacement camps. But even then, she fears for her daughters’ safety.
“I’m afraid to live in a tent with my daughters. I’m afraid we will drown in the winter. I’m afraid of insects. How will we get water?”
Before the war, she worked as a medical lab technician. Her husband, Raed, was a journalist for a media outlet believed to be affiliated with Hamas, though she insists he was not a member. Together, they had saved for a decade to move into their “dream house” — an apartment in Gaza City. It was destroyed in December 2023 during Israeli airstrikes in retaliation for the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the abduction of 251 others.
That strike collapsed a concrete pillar onto Abu Hassira, crushing her and burying her daughters in rubble. She was placed in a coma and later awoke in Shifa Hospital, with Maria — then a toddler — beside her, her skull fractured.
Her husband cared for them in the overwhelmed hospital, changing her clothes and feeding her. But in March 2024, Israeli troops raided Shifa again, detaining scores of men, including Raed. She has not heard from him since.
“Maha was just over a year old when they took her father away,” she said. “She’s never once said the word ‘daddy’.”
The family has moved at least 11 times since, scrambling for safety as fighting intensified. At times, they stayed with strangers, relying on borrowed clothes and handouts. By late 2024, Gaza City was sealed off and humanitarian aid nearly cut off. Clean water became scarce. Food prices soared. Jouri, the eldest daughter, became malnourished.
“I was terrified my daughters would die and I couldn’t do anything for them,” she said.
A ceasefire in January brought temporary relief. Aid resumed, families returned, and for a short time, hope flickered. But by March, Israel resumed airstrikes and halted imports, imposing a full blockade that lasted two and a half months. Food is now unaffordable: sugar costs nearly \$180 per kilogram, flour \$60.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. While the ministry is under Hamas authority, UN agencies and independent observers consider its casualty data broadly reliable.
In August, international experts declared Gaza City in famine. Weeks later, Israel launched a new offensive to pressure Hamas into releasing 48 remaining hostages. The latest campaign has brought renewed calls to evacuate, with leaflets dropped across the city. Many of Abu Hassira’s neighbours have already fled.
But she cannot walk, and there is nowhere to go. The so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza is now a patchwork of crowded tent camps, ruined buildings and informal settlements where gangs extort rent.
“I wish my daughters and I would die together before we are forced to leave,” she said. “We are exhausted.”- September 24, 2025
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