'No one wants us': Gaza's Palestinians caught in an endless cycle of displacement

World Refugee Day is observed on Thursday as war continues to force people to flee

Palestinians who fled Rafah look out over tents for displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza. EPA

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The world marked World Refugee Day on Thursday as Israeli air strikes hit camps for displaced people in Gaza, where the majority were already refugees before the outbreak of the war.

About 80 per cent of Gaza’s population are refugees who were forced to leave their homes when the state of Israel was created in 1948, according to the UN. They have kept their refugee status for more than 70 years because no solution has been found for them and many hold on to their “right to return” – a dream rejected by Israel.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October, most people living in the enclave have been displaced yet again.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees estimated that more than 75 per cent of the 2.3 million population have been displaced within the besieged strip since October, with many forced to flee multiple times. Others have managed to cross the border into Egypt and move on to other countries to once again become refugees.

Most say they took the opportunity to leave Gaza in order to protect their children but that their hearts remain with those left behind.

“I am not happy with this new step. I am still connected to my family in Gaza, who didn't have the chance to leave, and I worry about them all the time,” said Amira Ismael, whose job with an international organisation enabled her to move to Kenya.

The World Health Organisation says that in line with this year’s World Refugee Day theme of solidarity, universal access to quality health care should be in place. But in Gaza, after eight months of war, most hospitals have been destroyed and the few still operating warn they will go out of service unless they receive urgently needed fuel.

Israel's closure of the Rafah border crossing has cut Gazans off from food, fuel and aid, while also preventing the sick and injured in dire need of medical assistance from receiving treatment abroad.

The UN has repeatedly warned of the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip with food shortages and the threat of famine.

Hearts in Gaza

Most Palestinians in Gaza have been unable to leave the enclave since the outbreak of the war, with Israel controlling all of the border crossings, including the one at Rafah. In May, Israel seized the Rafah crossing, leaving it with full control of all of Gaza's entry and exit points.

Only dual nationals, and some of the injured who have been evacuated, or those who have paid exorbitant sums of money, have managed to leave Gaza since October. That was via Rafah, before the Israelis seized control.

The majority want to return home once the war is over. Ms Ismael is struggling in Kenya, where she says she cannot afford the cost of living for her and her three children. She would like to return to Egypt, closer to Gaza, but is fearful she will not be granted residence in the country which has so far been reluctant to allow in Palestinians.

Leena Samour fled to Istanbul, Turkey, with her four children to save them from the war and the deteriorating living conditions.

“We have been out of Gaza for six months and still don't feel stable because we are constantly thinking about returning to Gaza,” she told The National. “Life here is not easy and is expensive.”

She clings to the hope that her home is still standing and she can one day return.

Constantly displaced

“Leaving Gaza is not an option for me,” said Gaza city resident Munzer Khader, 50. He is one of the many who have no desire to leave their homes despite the constant fear of death.

Mr Khader said he was trying to make arrangements for his three sons to leave in order to continue their studies. “The future is still ahead of them,” he said. But for him, moving to a country that may not accept him is not an option. “At least here in Gaza, we accept our fate and destiny."

The feeling of being unwelcome and unwanted is one echoed by most Palestinians, who for decades have been scattered across refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, or other countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, clinging to the hope to one day return to a homeland.

“As Palestinians, we never feel stable. We feel like no one wants us, and we are a big problem for the world,” Ms Samour said.

The densely-populated refugee camps in Gaza, especially Nuseirat and Jabalia, have been the target of repeated Israeli bombardment, killing dozens of people at a time.

“The camp is our life and soul. I always say that we don’t just live in the camp; the camp lives in us,” said Mounis Al Khatib, who lost his home in Jabalia camp last month.

“Everything we grew up with and cherished has turned to ashes. But I, along with everyone whose house was destroyed, didn’t leave the camp.”

But Mohammed Washah, 28, who has lived his entire life in Jabalia, would jump at the first opportunity to leave. “In Gaza, there is no respect for human rights, and devastation is everywhere,” he said.

“I love this place deeply but after everything we experienced, I want to seek a new life elsewhere.”

Last month, Israeli forces carried out a 20-day military operation in Jabalia that destroyed about 70 per cent of the camp and surrounding areas, where more than 100,000 Palestinians live.

Since last month, Rafah has come under attack from multiple directions, with strikes and shelling reported in the eastern and central parts of the city while warships have fired at its coastline.

About 800,000 people have fled the southern city since Israel issued evacuation orders.

The offensive on the city, which was the last refuge for more than a million people forced to flee their homes earlier in the war, has sparked widespread international condemnation. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly called on Israel to halt its military incursion in Rafah out of fears of a mounting civilian death toll.

Palestinians fleeing Rafah have either returned to destroyed buildings in central Gaza or have fled to Al Mawasi, which has been struck several times despite its Israeli army designation as a humanitarian safe zone.