A university lecturer in Gaza has provided a detailed account of his daily life amid the ongoing conflict, describing the psychological and practical challenges of living and working in a war zone. His testimony highlights the severe disruptions faced by residents, including multiple displacements, the destruction of infrastructure, and the impact on educational activities.
Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the lecturer led a relatively normal life, but the current reality is marked by precarious living conditions. He and his family reside in a tent that offers little protection and no privacy. Frequent airstrikes near their shelter have heightened anxiety, especially regarding the safety of children and family members. The family has been forcibly displaced more than 15 times since the onset of the conflict, often having to leave belongings behind to escape danger, sometimes sleeping outdoors for several nights.
The lecturer’s mornings begin at dawn with prayer, followed by communication with students and colleagues via mobile phone. Battery power is carefully conserved to maintain these academic connections. Water is scarce; the family uses buckets to ration a limited supply from a single 200-litre tank, their only remaining source after their home was bombed and its tanks destroyed.
Daily life involves continuous repairs to the tent and constant efforts to charge essential electronic devices to continue teaching work. Food is irregular; at times, the lecturer bakes bread inside the tent, though it often spoils quickly due to the heat.
Afternoons are spent preparing lectures, though the process is complicated by frequent power outages. The lecturer has acquired basic knowledge of solar panel maintenance to keep his limited system functioning. Travel to his college’s temporary headquarters, Scholars Without Borders, involves navigating obstructed and congested routes on foot or by improvised transport such as carts and tuktuks, with journeys taking up to an hour.
The conflict has not only disrupted daily life but also directly targeted educational institutions. The lecturer observed military strikes on university buildings while displaced near Rafah and Khan Younis. Subsequent videos showed the complete demolition of these facilities, signaling a devastating blow to the region’s academic infrastructure. He noted that universities, representing future talent and potential, have been deliberately targeted during the conflict.
Evenings, once marked by leisure and cultural engagement, have been replaced by routine survival activities. The lecturer recalls visiting heritage sites and antiquities shops before the war, but now, such activities are impossible. He regularly checks on family members living nearby in similar conditions and occasionally socializes briefly with neighbors before continuing his communication with students into the night.
Through this personal perspective, the lecturer’s experience underscores the broader humanitarian and educational crises resulting from the ongoing violence in Gaza, where the struggle to maintain a semblance of normalcy persists amid widespread destruction and uncertainty.