Slices of Life in Gaza

@Rasheed Lanka
From 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009 Israel went to war with Hamas in Gaza after an escalation of violence between the two sides. Over 1,000 Gazans were killed, more than 5,000 wounded, over 50,000 were displaced, and over 4,000 homes totally destroyed. Gazans are still picking up the pieces from the war and there are high levels of poverty, deprivation and unemployment. With the imminent completion of an Egyptian above-and-below-ground steel barrier to prevent a thriving tunnel economy between Egypt and Gaza, residents are worried they will

A shepherd walks with his flock east of Jabaliya, northern Gaza

Gazan women walk past a mural of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Palestinian militants in 2006 and has been held as a prisoner by Hamas since

Many sell their catch in Gaza city fish market where only wealthier families can afford to shop 

Vegetables on sale at a market in Gaza.

A donkey cart laden with food provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Some 3,000 fishermen compete for dwindling fish stocks off the coast of Gaza.

The Old City market in Gaza. Gazans have been praised for their resilience and dignity in the face of hardships resulting from the blockade.

  A scrap metal dealer collects iron from the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel’s 23-day military offensive, which ended on 18 January 2009.

Some 973,600 people are food insecure out of a population of about 1.5 million, more than half of whom are children  .

 An old man sits outside his UNRWA-supplied tent in the Ezbet Abed Rabbo area of northern Gaza.

  With more than 50 percent unemployment in Gaza, sifting through rubble for metal has become for some a means of getting.

 Palestinian Children play at a beach refugee camp in Western Gaza City.