Ingram is in Dayr al-Balah, just under two miles south of Gaza City, when TT reaches her by phone. In recent days, she has met a large number of families fleeing the bombardment of the Gaza Strip's largest city. The desperation is great and few have any plan, she says.
They are fleeing in sheer terror of what is happening. Some have no destination, no tent. I met a family where the woman had just given birth, who had neither water, infant formula nor clothes for the baby.
Shrapnel injuries and wounds
Dayr al-Balah is located near the so-called humanitarian zone al-Mawasi, where Israel has repeatedly urged civilian Palestinians to go to avoid the war against terrorist-stamped Hamas. But the camp, which is located on old agricultural land, is overcrowded and lacks both water and food and other necessities. And it is not spared from Israel's air strikes.
A couple of weeks ago, eight children who were queuing for water were killed there. The youngest was three years old, says Ingram.
Two weeks have passed since she was last in Gaza City, to visit hospitals and other healthcare facilities, among other things.
I saw children with shrapnel injuries, open wounds and amputations. Children who were malnourished, paralyzed and shot. It just keeps going on. Children should not have to be in hospital under such circumstances, she says.
No choice?
Already then, the threat of an extended Israeli ground offensive against Hamas was a reality. But many of the city's residents have been on the run before and cannot take more.
People have no good options. Should they stay in the middle of a military escalation or leave - often without their belongings and on foot - to live in tents in an uncertain place, Ingram asks rhetorically.
The Gaza war broke out after Hamas' large-scale attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel's blockades and intense bombardment of Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, have killed over 60,000 people and laid large parts of the strip in ruins.
Tess Ingram notes that children in Gaza have been killed daily during the war.
The children are suffering. It's not due to accidents, it's a result of decisions made. We need a ceasefire now and civilians in Gaza must be protected, especially the children.
