By Hosni Nadim
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The stark reality of destruction and arson in the Jabalia refugee camp has come to light after the Israeli army's withdrawal from the northwestern region of Gaza City and North Gaza governorate on Feb. 1.
Abdulrahman Abu Hmeidan described his feelings after the army set fire to his home in the camp in northern Gaza.
"We never imagined that the occupation would burn down our home. Burning it is more difficult than bombing and destroying it,” he told Anadolu.
''My family and I used to live in this house. It is a multi-story building,'' he said as he stood inside the ruins.
''The mass destruction and devastation in the house surprised us. It was shocking to discover that Israeli forces had taken over the house and had turned it into a military point,'' he added.
He said the house has become uninhabitable and prone to collapse, according to architectures who examined the foundation, indicating it needs to be demolished t and rebuilt from scratch.
''Burning it is more difficult than bombing and destroying it, because you are demolishing your own home, and you won't get anything repaired from it,'' he added.
The Israeli army systematically burns homes in areas it has advanced as part of its destructive war on Gaza since Oct. 7.
Abu Hmeidan's brother, Ismail Abu Hmeidan, told Anadolu: "The army targeted the house with missiles, artillery and tanks, burning it, leading to its destruction.''
''After owning a car dealership and properties, my children now sell sweets to children just to secure a living,'' he said angrily.
He looked at the burned-out house in tears and said: ''They set fire to all our belongings, and we have become tenants. We left our homes empty-handed; we don't own clothes, blankets, or mattresses."
Structural damage to the three-story residential building indicates it is no longer inhabitable as a result of the severity of the Israeli shelling and arson.
Israeli soldiers set fire to more than 3,000 residential units since Oct. 7, causing losses estimated at tens of millions of dollars, according to the Gaza Media Office.
Despite the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 27,947 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 67,459 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio