Children in Gaza forced to live in chicken cages: Video

Gaza: Nearly two million people displaced due to Israeli bombings in Palestine are stranded under the open sky, facing severe cold without any suitable shelter to save their lives. Details of such Palestinian families are emerging on social media, who are forced to live inside chicken coops after being homeless.

Due to the Israeli bombing, around 2 million residents of Gaza have left their homes and are seeking shelter in the border town of Rafah. Five families have been relocated to a poultry farm, where they are living amidst high concrete walls.

They have converted battery cages into beds. Out of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, more than 85% have become homeless, with almost 1 million people gathering near the border with Egypt. Many of them are living in open spaces or on the coast in tents.

The Hanoun family is one of the five families that have been transferred to the poultry farm. They believe that living there is worse than living in the most basic conditions. Um Mahdi Hanoun said, standing amidst the cages, ‘Today, we live in a suitable place for animals. Can you imagine a child sleeping among chicken coops?’

She further added, ‘The place is in very bad condition. Water is dripping on us. The cold is life-threatening for children, adults, and the sick. Sometimes we wish we could die in our sleep. We have endured suffering here. There are insects, mosquitoes, and flies here. We also have children with us.’

Initially, they thought they would only stay there for a few days, but as time passed, they had to accept the reality and acknowledge that the poultry farm would be their home for a long time. They used metal frames of the cages as beds, and when they got flour, they used a metal stove on the floor to make bread.”