STORY: "Gaza has become unlivable" -- Local children share heartbreaking life experiences of war
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Nov. 21, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:14
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Kamal Mahdi in Deir al-Balah city
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): KAMAL MAHDI, Palestinian child
3. various of Sabrin Radi in a refugee camp in Deir al-Balah city
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SABRIN RADI, Palestinian child

STORYLINE:

Wednesday marked World Children's Day.

For numerous children in Gaza, like 14-year-old Kamal Mahdi, the good life only exists in memories.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): KAMAL MAHDI, Palestinian child
"My father, mother, and siblings are trapped inside the Gaza Strip. We are currently displaced in Deir al-Balah. Before the war, we used to go to school and learn, and I used to meet with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in the family, and we used to go out together, and we were very happy. We lost many of our relatives because of the war. Also, our family was separated, we live in one place and my relatives in another. Simply put, Gaza has become unlivable. The food is especially unhealthy. I wish the war would end, and we would return to our homes and meet with my relatives again. I wish the war would end, and I would return to Gaza City and meet with my relatives and friends and the death and fear we live in would end because we do not want wars."

For Sabrin Radi, a girl taking shelter in a refugee camp, safe food and water have become an everyday headache.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SABRIN RADI, Palestinian child
"Our life before the war was to go to school and then meet at my grandfather's house on the beach and eat with them. Now we can hardly get bread and food is very harmful because it is unhealthy in the war. Even the water we used to drink, which was fresh, has become polluted. We walk a long distance to get salty water. Before the war, each person lived in a room in our house, but now we all live in a tent in a refugee camp in Deir al-Balah."

According to an OHCHR report earlier this month, about 70% of the casualties in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 have been women and children.

Xinhua correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)