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Gaza struggles to accommodate the living and the dead as the population grows
Mohammed Salem
Series description

While the authorities grapple with a growing demand for new housing in the densely populated Gaza Strip, a battle for space is pitting the living against the dead, as homeless squatters settle in the area’s cemeteries,

The pressure on space in the cemeteries reflects a mounting demographic crisis in Gaza, where the population is set to more than double within the next 30 years. Land is running out and competition for scarce Gaza real estate is understandably fierce, with an ever-increasing demand for both housing and farming land to help feed the growing population. Now, even the dead are affected, as their resting places are pressured by squatters and the relentless realities of a growing population with nowhere else to go.

Biography

I am a Palestinian visual journalist, covering the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and stories of daily life. I also shoot sports and have done news covering assignments throughout the Middle East.    I loved photography as a hobby when I was very young, and my older brothers, both are photographers supported me. I learnt  that photography isn't only about politics; it is about everything in life.    A picture should not be taken just with the eye; it should be felt too.

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Kamilia Kuhail (35) looks after her 2-month-old son, Ahmed, in Sheikh Shaban cemetery in Gaza City, where she lives with her family. The Kuhail family’s house was built on the graves of two unknown people whose remains are now buried under the foundations. ‘If the dead could talk, they would tell us to get out of here’, says Kamilia.
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Omar Kuhail (65) carries his grandson Mohammad (7) on his shoulders in Sheikh Shaban cemetery where they live. The children keep asking their parents when they will be able to move out of the cemetery.
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Kamilia Kuhail hangs laundry on a line in Sheikh Shaban cemetery. Kamilia has lived in the cemetery for 13 years with her husband and a family that now numbers six children.
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Mohammad Kuhail (7) and his twin sister Yosra play on graves in Sheikh Shaban cemetery where they live. The children earn small amounts bringing water to funeral ceremonies.
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The Kuhail family cooks on a fire in Sheikh Shaban cemetery.
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Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City, photographed from above with a drone. Gaza has faced a mounting demographic crisis for years, and in the next 30 years its population is predicted to more than double, to over 4.8 million people.
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Khadija Kuhail (30), holds her son, Mohanad (1), in the doorway of their family home at Sheikh Shaban cemetery. Visitors have to climb three steps to get into the sparsely furnished house, where they encounter a strong smell. Kamilia Kuhail calls it ‘the smell of death’.
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Mohammad Kuhail (7), his twin sister Yosra (7), and their sisters Lama (9) and Lamis (12) make their way to school through Sheikh Shaban cemetery where they live.