I rushed home in the ceasefire. Our baby's due tomorrow
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faresakram
faresakram
Fares Akram's Gaza diary
Fares Akram is The Independent's reporter in Gaza
The temporary ceasefire was earlier yesterday, running from 10am until 1pm, so I used the time to rush back to the family house we've evacuated, to pick up blankets, toothbrushes and clothes. I found our area in the al-Karama district of Gaza City completely deserted except for a few people who had gone to inspect their homes. Some of the houses had been set on fire in the overnight clashes.
I managed to bring back things for the baby: washing products, shampoo, but because it was such a rush, I forgot a lot of things we needed.
I'm supposed to become a father for the first time tomorrow. Alaa, my wife, has a lot of pain and is very tired. We finally got blood pressure medication for her, from an UNWRA clinic. Inshallah, everything will be all right on Wednesday. The problem for Alaa, or for any woman about to give birth in Gaza, is that the Israelis don't announce their true intentions.
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From 1pm, life started returning to the streets. Israel stopped the bombing and shelling briefly after 12 days to allow humanitarian supplies in, and to allow us to stock up on food. People emerged from their houses, many to the hospitals to look for injured family members or the bodies of dead loved ones.
Most people headed for the bakeries, others rushed around with empty containers looking for drinking water. I joined a queue in front of a bakery but unfortunately returned without a single loaf since the bread ran out before it was my turn. Going to the green market was disappointing; there weren't enough vegetables. There were onions and cucumbers but tomatoes, the one thing everyone wants, were scarce. Nor was there any eggplant. There was something on sale that we don't use so much here: sweet pepper, considered a luxury because it's expensive.
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