'As inhumane as it gets': Fleeing Gazans seek refuge in empty chicken coops

Families have been forced to live in the unsanitary conditions, causing health issues

More than 40 members of the Yamani family live in an empty turkey shed in Al Mawasi. Mohamed Soulaimane for The National

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It’s been days since Abdul Karim Samour moved into a chicken coop to shelter from Israel's intensified bombardment in southern Al Mawasi, a region it had designated as a “safe zone”, yet which has been increasingly targeted in recent days.

The 62-year-old is evidently repulsed by the pungent odour as he tries once again to remove dried chicken waste from the floor and clean a section of the vast facility in to which he and his 11 family members have moved.

Once filled with chicken, the shed is now empty after 16 weeks of war has dried up the supply of food.

The unsanitary living conditions are having a significant impact on his family's health.

“The air is stuffy, unclean, and we live with a constant feeling of suffocation. Kids are complaining of itchy skin and rashes, and some are now having eye infections. It's torture,” Mr Samour told The National.

Having fled his home in central Khan Younis more than two months ago, the displacement journey of the Samour family has seen them move multiple times.

Failing to find a foothold in any of the 155 centres managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), he set up a shelter in southern Al Mawasi which offered little protection from rain and wind.

“The nylon roof was blown off several times and we were drenched in rain. But we stayed put, until it began raining rockets and missiles. That’s when we took off,” Mr Samour said.

The 15 families living here are left to care for themselves, he said.

“We are all forced to fend for ourselves one way or the other. I couldn’t find my family a place to stay at UNRWA, but I found them this,” he said.

The UN agency is facing a pause in donations from nine countries, and warns that it will cease operations soon.

“There are things we just can’t do without UNRWA,” the father of five said

“The food we get: like canned food, some clean water, blankets like these, it’s these things that make a huge difference when you’ve got nothing at all,” he explained.

The Samours found shelter from the cold and Israeli missiles in an empty chicken coop in southern Al Mawasi. Mohamed Soulaimane for The National

To the war-battered Gazan population of 2.2 million, UNRWA’s support offers a lifeline.

“We had little to eat, and now we have nothing.”

“Some of the food and non-food items we sourced from UNRWA, until Israeli forces cut off access to the main headquarters in Khan Younis for two weeks now. Now, our suffering is multiplied,” Mr Samour said.

‘More starvation’

Elsewhere in Al Mawasi, 42-year-old Hemdan Al Yamani, along with the families of his seven siblings and their children, have found refuge in a turkey coop.

Once home to more than 1,000 birds which mostly died of starvation and from the cold weather, the shelter is now a sanctuary for over 40 people, mostly children.

“On a normal day, we would quicken our pace when passing by a place like this, to avoid the smell. Look at us now. This is as inhumane as it gets,” said the father of five.

Despite the pungent smell and unhygenic conditions, Abdul Karim Samour could not find an alternative shelter for his family. Mohamed Soulaimane for The National

Despite the difficult situation he found himself in, Mr Al Yamani is grateful they have a roof over their heads.

“There are many out there without that much.”

With supplies dwindling further and the UN warning of a looming famine, Gazans are worried their children will starve.

“We used to get vegetables, canned food, milk and other items every now and then from UNRWA, which helped us feed the kids, until Israel blocked our access to it. What happens if UNRWA shuts down altogether?” he asked.

His brother, Yehia, a 54-year-old father of seven angrily interrupts.

“This is to punish the whole of us. To starve us further,” he says.

Major donors, including the US, UK, Canada and Germany, cut funding for UNRWA worth hundreds of millions of dollars last week after Israel alleged that that 12 of the agency's employees were suspected of involvement in the October 7 attack on Israel.

The cuts also began on the day International Court of Justice ruled in South Africa's case against Israel, saying that the latter breached several clauses of the genocide convention, and demanded that Israeli forces ensure the safety and well-being of Palestinians in Gaza.

“Whatever the reason is, they just can’t let UNRWA fall. We’ll all fall. The world can’t make this get worse for us still alive,” Hamdan said.

The piece has been published in collaboration with Egab.