GAZA CITY: In Gaza s Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, the buildings are riddled with bullet holes and windows have been shattered – grim reminders of the fierce internecine clashes that have turned this metropolis into a ghost town.
This neighborhood has become a ghost town in a state of war, says one resident, Jumaa al-Saqqa, a doctor in Gaza City s Shifa Hospital.
Fierce fighting between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions in Gaza has killed 24 people, including young children, since late Thursday and driven most residents inside their homes.
In Tal al-Hawa, the streets are deserted, as few people brave stepping outside of the relative safety of their homes. The stores have been shut for two days.
It is the same scene throughout Gaza City, where many streets have been barricaded amid the fighting.
Overnight and well into Sunday, dozens of fighters of the ruling Hamas movement confronted member of the preventative security force, loyal to President Mahmud Abbas s Fatah faction, which has its headquarters in the neighborhood.
The shooting didn t stop all through the night, Saqqa says in a tired voice. At most, we had a few moments of reprieve before they started shooting again.
For two days, we no longer sleep, he says. We can t even move about freely inside our homes. We have to remain below windows or be behind walls so as not to fall victim to stray bullets, he says.
We are living in indescribable and alarming conditions.
