ARI SHAPIRO, Host:
This is Weekend Edition from NPR News. I'm Ari Shapiro filling in for Scott Simon. The Israeli military offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza has now been going on for eight days.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROCKETS FIRING)
SHAPIRO: Israel hit some two dozen targets inside Gaza today.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROCKETS FIRING)
SHAPIRO: Over the last week, the focus of the strikes has been government offices, security compounds, and tunnels used for smuggling along the Egyptian border. Partly because of Gaza's dense population, schools, clinics and residential areas have also been hit. Meanwhile, Hamas rockets have reached farther into Israel than ever before. In a moment we'll hear from a medical worker in the city of Be'er Sheva, but first to Gaza.
Hamas said strikes overnight killed Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a senior leader of Hamas' armed wing. More than 400 people in Gaza have been killed and over 2,000 injured since the fighting began. The U.N. says that death toll includes more than a hundred civilians. And Israeli ground troops remain on the border waiting for a signal to invade. We called Sami Abdalshafi in Gaza City. He's a business consultant and he's been a contributor to the British newspaper The Guardian. I asked him to begin by describing his situation.
SAMI ABDALSHAFI: The situation currently is very difficult. The civilian population of Gaza is enduring so much hardship. They are scared. They are staying indoors to try to protect themselves from the near constant Israeli air raid.
SHAPIRO: You're saying they're enduring so much hardship. Tell me specifically what you mean. Is food available? Are other basic necessities accessible to people?
ABDALSHAFI: Most people have been kept on edge with respect to the supplies that they need. But what stands out here is the period before the war started even, which is the crippling siege which has been imposed on the Gaza Strip. So going into this unfortunate war, people have already been short on many basic supplies. And to the sixth or the seventh day of the war, those who ran out of supplies are even scared to get out of their homes to buy what they need.
SHAPIRO: So how do they survive?
ABDALSHAFI: They're just rationing. They're simply rationing on every supply they have, even on each loaf of bread. Maybe you've seen in world media the long lines that are in front of bakeries. There are no dairy products available, no medicines available. Life is very difficult for ordinary people here.
SHAPIRO: You're joining us from the BBC studios in Gaza. And so you've been traveling around the area a bit. Could you tell us a little bit about what you've seen?
ABDALSHAFI: Actually, I passed by a few demolished buildings, a few demolished mosques. What stands out really is not only the devastation but that Gaza has become a ghost town. People are truly scared for their lives, and they're suffering from a growing sense of mortality and desperation.
SHAPIRO: Within Gaza, is there any sense of a place that people can go that they'll be safe?
ABDALSHAFI: There is no safe place in Gaza except one's home. But one's home is becoming an unsafe place unfortunately because of the huge munitions that are dropped over Gaza, which cause huge explosions and huge vacuums following these explosions, which are causing a lot of breaking doors and exploding glass which is harming people in their own homes. This has happened so often. To avoid that, of course, many people keep their windows open, including myself, as we speak. And for the seventh day, during the coldest month in Gaza, I am keeping all of my windows open to avoid the possibility of the next explosion actually exploding my own windows. So it's very difficult. It's very difficult.
SHAPIRO: Have your family, friends, and loved ones been all right so far?
ABDALSHAFI: They have been all right so far, but that's the visible, physical aspect of it. Many people - in fact most people in the Gaza Strip - by now are actually traumatized.
SHAPIRO: Now, Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border. There has been speculation that a ground assault may be imminent. Are people concerned about that?
ABDALSHAFI: They are very concerned. But they don't know what the goal of the Israeli operation eventually is. So they are, therefore, unable to predict the extent of the ground incursion. So they're just waiting.
SHAPIRO: Sami Abdalshafi is a business consultant and a contributor to The Guardian. He joined us from Gaza City. Thank you and stay safe.
ABDALSHAFI: Thank you very much.