The situation in Gaza is so devastating that no words can adequately describe it, a humanitarian officer working in the besieged enclave has said.
"No matter where you look, no matter where you go, there's destruction, there's devastation, there's loss," said Yasmina Guerda, who recently returned to Gaza for a second deployment with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.
She spoke to UN News from Rafah, previously a refuge for more than a million Palestinians fleeing hostilities in other parts of Gaza. The start of Israeli military operations there has uprooted more than 600,000 people in just over a week.
Ms. Guerda frankly discussed the immense suffering and insecurity in Gaza, the critical lack of aid and basic services, and the difficulties facing humanitarians working amidst "the constant soundtrack of war".
The mother of two young boys also shared a message for people worldwide distressed over the conflict, urging them to ask "What can I do today at my level to help end this nightmare?"
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Yasmina Guerda: We would need to invent brand new words to adequately describe the situation that Palestinians in Gaza find themselves in today. No matter where you look, no matter where you go, there's destruction, there's devastation, there's loss. There's a lack of everything. There's pain. There's just incredible suffering. People are living on top of the rubble and the waste that used to be their lives. They're hungry. Everything has become absolutely unaffordable. I heard the other day that some eggs were being sold for $3 each, which is unthinkable for someone who has no salary and has lost all access to their bank accounts.
Access to clean water is a daily battle. Many people haven't been able to change clothes in seven months because they just had to flee with whatever they were wearing. They were given 10 minutes notice and they had to run away. Many have been displaced six, seven, eight times, or more.
One of the things that I find absolutely striking is the people's determination to keep moving forward, to keep looking up no matter what.
I was walking through a camp recently and there were several families who had dug their own makeshift septic tank with spoons in the sand, grabbing pipes and toilet tanks from destroyed buildings so that they can have something that resembles a restroom, because the situation here for water and sanitation is extremely dire. Humanitarians are not allowed to import the supplies to build latrines in displacement sites, so every family has to find their own creative way to solve that. I have been around several humanitarian crises, and you don't encounter this kind of grit everywhere.
UN News: You're in Rafah. What is the level of destruction there and how close is the fighting?
Yasmina Guerda: We are currently based in the western side of Rafah and the fighting is mostly in the east, and we hear the destruction that is happening. We go for reconnaissance missions which is, of course, extremely dangerous. Two of our colleagues went on a "recce" mission earlier this week and, unfortunately, one of them didn't come out of it alive and the other had to be medically evacuated. So, the destruction in Rafah is happening. I haven't personally seen it with my own eyes yet.
We have been able to see what has happened in the other areas that the Israelis have been attacking, so Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, and the northern parts of Gaza. What I can tell you is that there is rubble everywhere. The level of destruction is unimaginable, and the exception is to find buildings that are still standing. You'll see a sea of rubble, and then every so often you'll find a building that is still standing.
UN News: What are the challenges faced by humanitarian agencies in getting aid to civilians in need, particularly while civilians are on the move?
Yasmina Guerda: This is my second deployment to Gaza. I was here four weeks ago, and in four weeks everything has changed, including how you get in and out of Gaza and how you bring in supplies. Most of the population used to be in Rafah because that was the safer area back then. But now, of course, 630,000 people in 10 days have packed up whatever they had and gone north or towards the coastal areas.
The situation is constantly shifting because of the fighting that is so intense. One of the challenges for the response is that the minute you put something in place, the minute you think you know something, you have to change everything and start from zero. So that is extremely challenging, and it is slowing down the response a lot.
