In a house made of zinc sheets in Gaza, Um Basher Al-Hartani lives with her two daughters, far from the rest of her family in the south. Despite the hunger and cold, she gathers the cats around the dining table, telling herself, “These are also my small family, who stayed with me.”
Um Basher says, “I’ve loved cats since I was a child. I couldn’t stand seeing them hungry and doing nothing to help.” Even during the war, she walks daily through the neighborhoods to feed the cats with bread and mortadella bought from her small income.She dreams of finding a group to provide food for the cats so she doesn’t lose them too.
By her door, she’s set up a simple shelter to protect the cats from the cold and cares for them, even when they’re sick. With sadness, she says, “The cats come to me when I’m late, as if they feel my absence and want to check on me. If I lose them, I won’t be able to bear it.”
Her heart is heavy with longing. Her only wish is for the war to end so she can hold her son and family again. She says, “I wanted to move south to see them, but I thought maybe there will be a ceasefire, and they’ll all come back to me."
