Gaza war diary: 'I'm shattered. My only comfort is my cat'

Tarneem Hammad, an English language instructor based in Gaza, has written for Middle East Eye on her experience of living through the past six months of Israeli bombardment and siege. 

She writes: "There are so many Palestinians in Gaza dying slowly, uncounted, and unseen.

The first time I had ever seen my eldest brother cry was in the early days of the war. Two of our beloved neighbours' houses were bombed. My brothers and a few other men in our neighbourhood desperately tried in vain to rescue the children.

My eldest brother was known to have the biggest and most beautiful eyes in our family, and we always teased him that none of his children got his big eyes. That day, when he returned home, he wept in grief - his big eyes turning into an ocean of tears that drowned our hearts with him.

On 14 October, we mourned the loss of my uncle, who died protecting his four-year-old son from shrapnel that hit their parked car following an air strike nearby. My uncle was found dead with his arms wrapped around his little boy, who survived with burns on his head."

You can read the full piece below.

Gaza war diary: 'I'm shattered. My only comfort is my cat'