Sébastien Le Belzic (correspondent in Tel Aviv) / Photo credits: NIR KEIDAR / ANADOLU / Anadolu via AFP
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09:00, November 7, 2023
Since the start of the war, more than 200,000 Israelis have been displaced from communities around the Gaza Strip and on the country’s northern border, according to the government. Many of these refugees have already been installed for a month in hotels and apartments loaned free of charge thanks to national solidarity.
In the heart of the White City, the historic center of Tel Aviv, the Alma Hotel is a listed building dating from 1925. A five-star hotel transformed into a refugee camp. Fernand, 79, arrived in the capital with seven members of his family. “There, where we were, it was hellish. We can’t go outside. My wife is still traumatized. As soon as someone shouts in the street, we think something is happening “, explains this man.
“They arrived in psychological or physical distress”
25 volunteers surround them including Lena, 24 years old. They receive no state aid. Food is offered by a nearby restaurant and rooms are provided free of charge by the owners.
“We tried to create a bubble in which families would feel safe to respond to extreme precariousness. They arrived in psychological or physical distress. There were people who even arrived in their pajamas,” says the volunteer. Officially, the government does not plan a return to the evacuated areas on the border of Gaza and Lebanon before December 31, 2023.