Some Gaza mothers forced to reuse diapers, sell jewelry to afford them
Hundreds gather at the Al-Buhaisi shopping centre in Khan Younis to buy diapers, many leave empty-handed
From her tent made up of blankets, tarps and wood beams, Asala Shehata, 32, lays her three-year-old daughter Heba down on a mat on the ground to change her diaper. What used to be a simple routine has stretched into a complex undertaking, another aspect of life that over a year of war has altered in Gaza.
She starts by placing a towel on the child and wrapping it in a plastic bag around her waist. Then, she puts the disposable diaper on Heba. This way, she can wash and reuse the diaper for a few more weeks, because it only gets a little soiled.
The cost of diapers has skyrocketed — and that's if they're available when the mother of four goes out to buy them. A pack of 30, which once cost 13 shekels ($5 Cdn), can now run up to 70 shekels ($28 Cdn), an increase of over 400 per cent.
The Israeli government said that it's given the green light to allow aid trucks into the area, but says much of the aid is looted before it reaches the civilians it's meant to help. Last week, UNRWA also halted shipments of aid into Gaza after more trucks were looted.
But that leaves mothers like Shehata, who is living in Khan Younis on what was once the campus of Al-Aqsa University, desperate for diapers, and having to turn to alternatives as they wait for more supplies to come in.
"We buy a diaper, we keep it and wash it for maybe two weeks until it breaks down," Shehata told CBC freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife.
"Diapers are very expensive and are scarce in the market."
All-day waits for diapers
It's noon at the Al-Buhaisi shopping centre in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, and a large crowd has gathered, pushing and shoving each other in an attempt to reach the shop's window.
People hold pink packs high in their arms — they're the lucky ones who have managed to snag a few diapers for their kids this time around.
Umm Aseel, 55, had been in line since 8 a.m., but didn't manage to get any diapers for her grandchildren. Their father, her son, has been in jail for 17 years, leaving her and the children's mother to watch over the quadruplets.
"I sold their mother's bracelets so I could buy them diapers … and I still couldn't get them," she told El Saife.
In a report published in December, UNICEF said children in Gaza are facing a "deepening catastrophe" as access to essential goods and services continue to dwindle.
"Everyday supplies parents need to keep their children healthy are either unavailable or too expensive for families to afford," it read.
While the Rafah border crossing bordering Egypt is still closed, the only other option for aid to enter the strip is through the Kerem Shalom border, which connects Gaza with Israel and Egypt.
But issues with crossing the border, coupled with images of trucks lined up ready to cross with aid from international organizations, have caused an uproar among the international community. Israel has previously claimed that Hamas was stealing the aid, while the group in turn claimed Israel was purposely stopping it at the border.
Now, as the war continues into its second year, and Hamas loses its control over the territory, lawlessness has taken over. Looters and gangs have targeted aid trucks and sold much of those supplies to desperate civilians, which then drives up the cost.
Truck drivers told El Saife earlier in December that as they crossed the Kerem Shalom border, looters would shoot at their trucks, targeting their tires and windshields, sometimes forcing drivers to go to undisclosed locations to drop their loads rather than international organizations' warehouses.
Hala Abdel Ghani, 34, was also in line all day for diapers at the shopping centre and left empty-handed.
"I want to leave but I can't because I didn't get anything for my son," she told El Saife. "There's a diaper crisis."
Abdel Ghani says she runs through a pack of diapers a day for her three-year-old son, who has liver issues. Their rising cost makes them difficult to get, and even more difficult to maintain a supply.
The Israel-Hamas war began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct.7 killed some 1,200 people and saw 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli figures. Israel's responding incursion into Gaza has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Used diapers cause rashes, sores
Back in her tent in Khan Younis, Shehata places the diapers in a basin along with some other laundry. With a soapbar, she begins to clean the diaper and then hangs it on a line in the space between the tents.
"The children had rashes, allergic reactions, infections, sores," she said. "They've been exposed to so much but I try my best to disinfect the area."
Nearby, little Heba walks off with a smile and a baby bottle of water in hand. Her mother has changed her into a Mickey Mouse sweatsuit and tied her hair up in pigtails. On the outside, the child looks to be living a normal life — unaware of what her mother goes through to secure something as simple as a diaper for her.
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With files from Mohamed El Saife