OfJohn *
The story of an Italian logistician on a 35-day mission in the Strip: worse than in Mosul and Bosnia
*Giovanni – the name is fictitious for security reasons – is an Italian humanitarian worker with 30 years of experience, who works in Gaza for an international NGO. Here is his diary of his first 40 days in the Strip
April 18
From Cairo to the Rafah checkpoint I slept. It will be difficult weeks. In these 30 years of work I have crossed many boundaries, so I know that it is better to save energy. Once we arrive at the gate of Gaza, however, it immediately becomes clear: it is not a border like another. In line, dozens of trucks loaded with aid. Our passport control alone took 5 and a half hours. In the distance, explosions can already be heard and we have a drone flying above our heads. Next to me, in line, a Palestinian journalist is returning after taking out the material because there isn’t enough network inside to send it. Foreign reporters, unlike us humanitarian workers, are prohibited from entering but Palestinians can come and go.
25 April
There guesthouse it is welcoming, it is located in the so-called humanitarian zone and therefore considered safe. The wives, relatives and children of local employees live with us. I sleep in a tent in the garden: it’s less dangerous in case of a raid. In the evening we all eat together. Some rice and vegetables. Protein, almost nothing. The other evening they bombed not far from us, there were deaths. Everyone expects the offensive. We have to decide what to do in that case. But I already know that I will stay, we have a duty to do so towards these people.
April 29
We did the evacuation test for ourselves and for the families of our local colleagues, half of whom are children. At the start they had to pack their things, dress for the trip and get into the car. It took them, stopwatch in hand, 9 and a half minutes. The time it takes me in Italy to decide what shoes to wear. During the night a shot came so close that it shook my tent. Other NGOs are already relocating their staff to the guesthouse out of the line of fire.
May 4th
There is an apparent calm. The IDF has given the order to evacuate a series of neighborhoods in Rafah. During the day I work in the office where the connection is good. In the evening I play a bit with the children: they are agitated, they whine about everything. We try to distract them. This morning the neighbors instead decided to fire Kalashnikov shots at each other. You can see that they are nervous too (we laugh to avoid crying).
May 6th
Rains. In the evening the news of the truce arrived, there were those who went out into the streets to celebrate but it didn’t last very long. The IDF bombed immediately. Meanwhile, some of our aid trucks that were supposed to pass today are stuck in Kerem Shalom.
May 7
The offensive has begun. They are bombing in the East. And they hit the warehouse (the warehouse, ed) of the UN. Much aid has been lost. Our shipment was rejected because it contained plates and forks, considered material dual use (usable for war purposes according to the IDF, ed). I wonder what harm can be done with plates and forks. A baby was born in our house, Sanad. Handsome. But when I saw it I thought “I wonder what you’re doing in a world like this”. Hospitals are about to run out of fuel.
May 10th
We changed guesthouse because our block was also among those to be evacuated. I pitched the tent on the roof. It’s hot in the house and there are too many of us. We have 3 bathrooms for 60 people. There is rubbish everywhere on the street because it is no longer possible to dispose of it. I fall asleep, let’s hope it’s a quiet night.
May 12th
I managed to recover only one can of petrol. Some colleagues suffer from dysentery due to their diet. Luckily, I’m fine. There is no sun and therefore we cannot charge our phones even with solar panels. The gate remains closed. A convoy of colleagues left. But it’s dangerous. Yesterday they shot at UN cars.
May 19th
This morning the IDF dropped tons of leaflets above our heads with the identikits of suspicious people. We don’t see any Hamas militants around. They are hidden like water in the river. But the other day when they fired rockets towards Israel, people in the street shouted with joy.
May 23
I’m out of the Strip. To get out we passed through Khan Younis and the fighting area east of Rafah: I have never seen something like this. Not even in Bosnia, Mosul and Ukraine. Civilians also stone UN cars and have attacked convoys more than once. Then, after 5 hours, stop to wait for the green light (green light, let it pass, ed) of the IDF we crossed the checkpoint. But five minutes earlier they had bombed on the roadside. At this moment we are passing in front of the Rave area of Re’im. The connection just came back. Here too there is a smell of death. But it’s different here. It’s another world.
(text collected by Marta Serafini)
May 31, 2024
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