Gaza's horror through a mother's eyes

GAZA is slipping deeper into famine as the conflict rages on and humanitarian aid remains blocked.

- TRACY-LYNN RUITERS

Inside this shrinking strip of land, mothers search desperately for food and water, while children die of hunger.

Youmna El Sayed, a mother of four and Al Jazeera English correspondent, left Gaza in January 2024, but she doesn't feel relief. She carries with her the weight of those left behind.

Now based just a few kilometres away, El Sayed said every day is a battle to reconcile the horror she's witnessed with the expectation to "be normal".

"It was and still is very complicated to live like a normal human being when you have your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours still living a daily genocide that you know how horrible it is, while you're now in a place couple of kilometres away yet every other person lives a normal life and expects you to be normal like them. But they have no idea that this itself is a complex trauma that we carry and live within every day."

El Sayed lived in Gaza for a decade, having moved there permanently in 2014. Among the worst memories that haunt her as a mother, she recalled the day she couldn’t find drinking water for her children.

"One of the worst days for me as a mother was when I couldn't find drinking water for my children for an entire night and day. As a mother it's heart aching.

For El Sayed, the desperation of survival became heartbreakingly real. "We had to share a bottle of 500ml of water the six of us. I watched them go thirsty and I gave them sips of water as I and my husband remained without because we had no choice."