In 2015 the United Nations, now famously, predicted that Gaza could be ‘uninhabitable’ by 2020 if current trends continued. And yet, here we are in the final quarter of 2020, with Gaza home to two million people and reports that conditions are still getting worse not better.

Having endured 13 years of Israel’s siege, three military operations against it in 2008, 2012 and 2014 as well as the violent crack down against the weekly Great March of Return protests in 2018 where over 200 Palestinians were killed and over 8000 injured with live ammunition, just what is it really like to live in Gaza today?

It is reported that 50% of Gaza’s population are under 18-years-old, so the average 13 year old has endured three wars and is by now probably used to the fact that only some 4% of water is drinkable and electricity is often limited to just a few hours a day. But Save the Children found that 95% of Palestinian children interviewed in Gaza showed deep signs of psychological distress, and youth unemployment may be as high as 70%. In addition, COVID-19 seems to have had an impact there, where 4,645 cases have been reported and sadly 27 deaths.

Panellists: Dr. Yara Asi, Lecturer at University of Central Florida, Fulbright US Scholar for 2020-2021 and Al-Shabaka Policy Member

Suhail Flaifl, Medical Mission Coordinator for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Gaza City

Nada Flaifl, Dentistry student at Al-Azhar University, Gaza

Issam Adwan, Gaza Former Project Manager for We Are Not Numbers, trained translator/interpreter, journalist and English teacher.