KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing conflict in Gaza, Palestine is already in its 15th day and many people there are suffering and do not have access to basic amenities. They are also faced with a hike in food prices and other essentials that are getting scarce.
Nurul Ain Haron, 37, a Malaysian who is currently stranded in Gaza, said that many there are surviving by rationing and eating bread after cooking gas ran out, with many unable to cope with the hike in prices for food and essentials ever since the conflict erupted.
"Alhamdulillah, my family and I, we are good and healthy, it is just that the situation is very bad now with no electricity or water, even the gas for cooking has run out.
"Many are struggling…even just to buy bread. The prices of food and goods have increased overnight and now gas has run out. Gas used to be 60 shekel (RM70) which has now gone up to 100 shekel (RM117).
"Water that is filled in the tank has also gone up, before this it was about 35 shekel (RM41) for 1000 litres of water, but now it has gone up to 50 shekel (RM59)," she said when contacted by Harian Metro recently.
Earlier, the first batch of lorries carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter the region after the border at Rafah which connects Palestine and Egypt was reopened.
Sharing on what is happening over there, Nurul Ain said that even though the border at Rafah has reopened, so far, there has not been any aid or assistance channelled to the people there.
"For the people here that have fled their homes that were destroyed, it is difficult to get food and essentials because so far aid and assistance has not come in yet.
"For my husband, my in-laws and myself, even though the prices of goods and essentials have soared, Alhamdulillah, we are still able to persevere as we only eat once a day and if we get hungry at night, then we will eat snacks like nuts, peanuts and drink coffee.
"To bathe and charge our mobile phones, we have sought temporary refuge and shelter at my sister in-law's place because she has electricity thanks to solar power," she said.
She shared that the situation in Gaza is unpredictable and very scary because there is a fresh wave of attacks that threaten the safety and well-being of the people there.
"The situation here is out of control because it is chaotic with bombs being heard going off both near and far, and yesterday (Oct 21) areas close by were bombed.
"We are very scared so much so that we are unable to sleep properly because we are also very worried thinking about what else may or can happen after this," she said.
Nurul Ain said that together with her husband, Mohamed Adnan Shaat, 33, they are in a mode of preparedness after the Malaysian Embassy in Cairo contacted her about the process of getting out of Gaza.
"While waiting to be evacuated out of here, my husband and I have continued with our efforts to help the people here by channelling aid and assistance courtesy of friends, fellow Malaysians and Singaporeans. But now it is becoming even more difficult to do so because stocks are very limited and scarce, and the prices are very high.
"I just hope that we are able to get out of Gaza as soon as possible, but at the same time I am determined to help as many people here as I can," she said.
For the record, Nurul Ain and her husband live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and this was their first time returning to her in-law's place in Khan Younis after six years of marriage.
The couple have been stranded there since arriving on Oct 1.
Last Friday, Nurul Ain's father, Haron Hamim, 65, made an appeal to the government to help evacuate his daughter as soon as possible as he claimed that he had not received any information regarding the government's plan when he visited Wisma Putra last Wednesday.