"It is January, 2026, more than 90 days after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and Abu Layla is standing amid piles of garbage bags in Al-Yarmuk, a dump in central Gaza City; it has been his family's home for the past few months. Unable to return to Beit Lahia, where he once lived, he spent days searching Gaza City for vacant land to pitch his tent on. After finding none, he finally erected it inside Al-Yarmuk."
""It's very bad-a pure health hazard where all of Gaza's waste gets dumped," he says. Abu Layla lives in Al-Yarmuk with his wife and five children. They share the site with rodents, insects, snakes, and stray dogs that pound the fabric walls at night, terrifying the children and keeping them from sleeping. His children have developed skin rashes from insects."
Hamada Abu Layla, 45, lives with his wife and five children in Al-Yarmuk, a central Gaza City dump, more than 90 days after a ceasefire. He fled Beit Lahia after Israeli bombing destroyed his apartment building and killed his parents and siblings; his remaining immediate family and one brother survived. Unable to return because Beit Lahia is under Israeli military control, he pitched a tent amid piles of garbage and waste. The family shares the site with rodents, insects, snakes, and stray dogs, and the children have developed skin rashes. Abu Layla holds three university degrees, including graduating first in Palestine in Islamic Sharia and diplomas in information technology and mathematics, yet those credentials no longer provide safety or livelihood.
Read at The Nation
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