In Rafah, we sit in flimsy tents as the bombs fall. There is no escape. We can only wait for the worst

I work in mental health, but nothing could have prepared me for this feeling of mass hopelessness – frozen in place, seeing no way out

When the bombardment of Rafah started, I was with my family in the tent we are living in. What can a thin piece of nylon protect you from? Picture: AP /Fatima Shbair

I’m a doctor and psychiatrist, and before the war in Gaza, my days followed a reliable routine. I would go to work in the clinic, visit my friends and spend time with my family. I lived a normal life. 

Now, my family and I are refugees in Rafah, after the Israeli army ordered us to leave our home in Khan Younis. We are living in the worst conditions imaginable. We spend our days waiting. We wait in queues for two or three gallons of drinkable water, or for food or plain flour to make bread over a fire, after months without electricity.