Peace and potato chips: Gaza dreams big and small for 2024

As the year draws to a close, Al Jazeera talks to five people who have lost all but hope and prayers.

Little girl, barefoot dusty feet, plays with a discarded hula hoop she found
As the year draws to a close, Al Jazeera talks to five people who have lost all but hope and prayers [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
As the year draws to a close, Al Jazeera talks to five people who have lost all but hope and prayers [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip - It is bitterly cold, and people are trying to build adequate shelter to protect themselves in a new refugee camp set up in Deir el-Balah to cope with the overwhelming numbers of people fleeing in search of safety.

In the camp, which is close to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, children run from tent to tent, borrowing items, carrying messages, or looking for someone to play with because that’s what children do.

Al Jazeera spoke to five Palestinians in the camp about their hopes and fears for 2024 amid Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

the dirt spaces between makeshift tents
It is bitterly cold in this Deir el-Balah camp, but there are few solutions [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
Source: Al Jazeera