GAZA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two years into the relentless conflict in the Gaza Strip, local women are shouldering heavier burdens and demonstrating remarkable resilience under conditions described by many as surpassing the limits of human endurance.
Often losing their homes to the conflict and facing constant disruptions of daily routines, they struggle to ensure basic needs for their families, especially those who have lost their husbands during the conflict.
In a refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, 27-year-old Jenin Mahmoud sat outside a tent, cradling her young child while making a small fire to prepare food.
"My life has changed entirely since the outbreak of the war ... I have to invest all my time in securing food and caring for my child," such as spending long hours in water queues or searching for leftover food, she told Xinhua.
Getting married and giving birth to a child during the conflict, she said the most difficult challenge for mothers there is to get medical treatment and adequate nutrition for their children.
"Sometimes I leave the camp with other women to look for some vegetables or lentils, and we might return hours later with nothing," she said.
According to a statement released by the health authorities in Gaza on Oct. 1, since Oct. 7, 2023 -- when Israel conducted a large-scale offensive against Hamas, in retaliation for a Hamas attack along the southern Israeli border -- 2,580 people in Gaza had died from famine and malnutrition.
Mahmoud's biggest nightmare has been seeing her child fall ill while being denied access to medicine. Doctors at a nearby hospital often tell patients that only painkillers are available due to a severe shortage of essential medicines, she said.
Over the past two years, Mahmoud lost not only her home, but also the opportunity to complete her university studies in commerce. "I dreamed of becoming a teacher and building a better future, but all that collapsed with the war," she said.
She emphasized that women are now playing a pivotal role in sustaining daily lives, from hospitals to households, and have taken on multiple responsibilities far beyond what was expected of them before the conflict.
In the same city, 35-year-old Areej lives in a camp for displaced persons after losing her home.
"Life has been turned upside down," she told Xinhua, adding that even obtaining oil or lemons has become a distant dream.
She gave birth during the conflict by caesarean section, without adequate recovery or medical care, before resuming daily chores.
Today, her life is defined by various queues: for water, bread and aid. "Sometimes I stand from dawn until noon just to get a few loaves of bread, and if I am late, I might return empty-handed," she said. "On some nights, I can only give my children dry bread or sugar water."
Even though she herself feels anxious and suffers from constant insomnia, she tries to stay strong so that her children don't feel hopeless, Areej said.
About 335,000 residents were forced to leave their homes under the pressure of Israeli bombing, said the Hamas government media office on Sept. 24.
Moreover, approximately half a million Palestinians are trapped in an area of no more than 8 square km in Gaza City, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a press statement on Sept. 29.
An airstrike killed the husband of 42-year-old Umm Samer al-Amasai a year ago, leaving her to raise four children alone, the youngest being 7 years old.
"Since my husband's death, I have become both father and mother," she said, being forced to look for work or aid. In the face of the hardships, she believes that staying strong is her only option.
More than 13,000 female deaths were recorded since the onset of the conflict, while about 14,000 women became widows, according to Zaher Al-Wahidi, head of the Information and Archives Unit in the health authorities in Gaza.
The stories of Mahmoud, Areej, and al-Amasai are part of a bigger picture which shows women have gone beyond their traditional roles and shouldered bigger social responsibilities.
"The Palestinian woman today is everything; she is the one who maintains survival and provides the bare necessities of life," Mahmoud said. ■
