Inside Gaza’s ‘tent city’ for displaced families
Palestinians shelter at a temporary tent camp for those displaced from their homes by Israel’s evacuation orders and airstrikes, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip,19 October 2023
Ruwaida Kamal Amer reports in +972:
In scenes eerily reminiscent of the conditions of Palestinian refugees following the Nakba of 1948, a tent city has sprung up in recent days in the western part of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. More than 100 UN tents have been set up in what used to be a city square, providing temporary shelter for around 800 people who were displaced from their homes amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
While everyone in Gaza is facing severe shortages of food, water, and electricity, those living in the tents are among the worst affected by Israel’s attacks and intensifying siege. Residents of the encampment are surviving on the limited aid provided by locals and a few civil society organizations.
It is not altogether clear how the tent city came into being. Salama Marouf, the head of Hamas’ media office, admitted in a press conference last week that Hamas was surprised when the encampment sprung up, which he criticized as an echo of the refugee camps of 1948. Taking aim at the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has handled the humanitarian affairs of Palestinian refugees throughout the region since the Nakba, Marouf declared: “UNRWA’s role is not to set up tents for those who are displaced inside Gaza in preparation for their displacement outside the strip.”
But while confirming that the tents are theirs, the UN agency has denied setting up a new refugee camp. “UNRWA has distributed the tents to displaced families in Khan Younis to protect them from the rain and provide dignity and privacy,” Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s director of communications, told +972. “We wish to confirm that UNRWA has not established any new camps in the Gaza Strip.”