The withdrawal of reserve brigades belonging to the Israeli occupation army from the Gaza Strip continued, amid fierce battles with the Palestinian resistance, the last of which was the withdrawal of the 4th and 55th reserve brigades from the south of the Strip.
The Israeli occupation army decided to withdraw the 4th and 55th reserve brigades from the Gaza Strip after completing their mission.
The Hebrew channel "Kan", affiliated with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, explained that the decision to withdraw the two brigades comes "within the framework of reducing the reserve forces in Azza."
It reported that the 4th Reserve Brigade, “Kiryati,” left southern Gaza last night, after thousands of its fighters participated in fierce battles against the Hamas movement north and east of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Strip.
As for the 55th Brigade, it is a paratroopers brigade known as the “Tip of the Spear,” and consists of five battalions.
The Israeli army announced on Saturday the withdrawal of the 7107th Combat Engineering Battalion from Gaza, after months of participating in the fighting.
In mid-January, the occupation withdrew the 36th Division, which was one of the 4 military divisions it deployed in the war on Gaza.
In late December, the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade (one of the elite brigades) was withdrawn after suffering heavy losses in the battles of the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
There was no information available regarding the number and nature of the Israeli forces currently present in Gaza.
“Another face of the struggle for survival.” Children of Gaza are forced to work in harsh conditions to support their families
Osama Qasim (13 years old) is supposed to be a student at the school, but the current war has brought the current school year into an unknown tunnel, as Qasim stands behind a small stand selling natural juices in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, and calls out at the top of his weary voice to attract customers.
The Palestinian child, Osama Qassem (13 years old), stands behind a small stall selling natural juices in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and calls out at the top of his weary voice to attract customers.
With his short stature and weak build, Qasim is trying to provide his family, displaced from the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis, with a simple income to buy some basic needs and food.
He says: "I have to work every day from the early morning hours until the evening, because I need money. My family is displaced and has nothing."
Residents who need money are forced to sell simple goods they own, to provide sums of money with which they can buy their needs, if they are available in the markets.
He added: "I currently sell lemonade to residents and displaced people in the vicinity of Nasser Medical Complex, in order to spend money on myself, my mother, and my displaced siblings in schools west of Khan Yunis."
Although the child Qasim dreams of a normal life like the rest of the children in the world, full of energy, activity, and playing in gardens, green parks, and playgrounds, the war robbed him and his peers of everything beautiful.
Child Qasim fears that the Israeli war will extend for a longer period of time and that the scope of ground military operations in Khan Yunis will expand to affect the vicinity of the Nasser Medical Complex.
Normally, Qasim is supposed to be a student in school, but the current war has plunged the current academic year into an unknown tunnel, as no updates have been issued from the Ministry of Education regarding the fate of the academic season.
He says: "All I fear is that the war will drag on and that the Israeli army will reach the Nasser Medical Complex, and we will be forced to flee again, in search of a safe place to shelter us,We no longer think about education as much as we think about saving ourselves."
He added: “Life has become difficult and complicated, displacement, fatigue, and extreme fear, and we do not know what awaits us in terms of bombing and displacement,” wondering: “How long will our situation remain like this?!”
Last Friday, during a press conference, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place for children in the world and its situation has gone from catastrophic to almost collapsed.
According to the Palestinian census, about 1.05 million children under the age of eighteen lived in the Gaza Strip before the war, constituting 47.1% of the Strip’s population, including about 32% under the age of five (340 thousand children).
Situations are difficult
The suffering of another child, Khaled Al-Nateel (13 years old), is not limited to the exhaustion he suffers after a long day of work since the morning. He begins preparing his goods with his family and then selling them in the market west of Khan Yunis.
The displaced child, Al-Nateel, from the Al-Mashtal area, northwest of Gaza City, says: “The war has made conditions difficult, and the citizen can barely manage his affairs.”
He added: "The solution is for people to work in any field in order to live and spend on themselves. The strong at this time are the ones who can live."
The child, Al-Nateel, works in selling home-made pastries or sweets, or even in selling roasted Sudanese pistachios to citizens, to help his family in light of the difficult economic reality due to the continued Israeli aggression.
He asked: "Where will we eat? Where will we buy our needs for me and my brothers? We have to work to help the family provide our livelihood and our daily expenses."
As for the child Mazen Fares Helles (16 years old), who stands on a stall selling detergents next to his little sister, in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis, he says: “I am forced to sell detergents so that we can live like other people.”
"We deal with a merchant who provides us with goods so that we can sell them and be able to manage our affairs. We barely succeed in selling one or two items a day."
He explains that he works to support his eight brothers, especially after the martyrdom of his older brother, indicating that he and his father work so that they can meet their needs and buy what the family needs.