Amal Seyam is the general director of the Women’s Affairs Centre in Gaza. Originally from the Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, her home was destroyed by bombardment. For nearly four months, she has been sheltering in the Nasr neighbourhood in the city’s west, where she stays alongside her colleagues inside the women’s centre.

Seyam has been displaced five times since the war began — three times within the city and twice to the south, in Rafah and Khan Younis. Each time, she fled with nothing.

When asked if she would consider leaving Gaza City, she said, “I will only leave when everyone who needs me here leaves. As long as there’s a woman who needs me, I am staying. All of Gaza feels like it’s in the red zone now anyway. The bombing is happening metres from us, not kilometres.”

She paused, her voice breaking into tears.

“Many people have started packing. Many have already left. Do you know what displacement means? It means moving once again, building your life once again, buying new things, blankets, tents, all over again.”

Dire conditions persist throughout Gaza

Those who have left Gaza City over the past few months have found dire conditions elsewhere in Gaza. Their arrival has crowded already overflowing tent camps and sent prices of basic goods up.

Iman El-Naya, from Khan Younis, fled Gaza City three months ago. “The beach is crowded. Everywhere is crowded. There’s no hygiene. It’s a struggle to get water and food.”