Gaza: 12-year-old works to feed family as war nears fourth year

A 12-year-old boy in Gaza wakes each morning in a tent on the beach, unsure if he will survive the day. Ramadan Ghaban lives in a tent pitched on sand dunes above the coastline. Rats have chewed holes in the canvas. Sand blows in through the gaps. He shares a torn mattress with his siblings. The sun has just risen, but it is already hot. "I wake up every morning at 6.30am," he says. "Sometimes, the heat wakes me up, and sometimes it is the sound of the birds, which are everywhere because we live near the sea." Ramadan works to support his family. He is afraid. "I'm afraid they'll bomb the cafe where I work, or bomb me," he says. His story is one of five told by the Guardian this week, as the war in Gaza approaches its fourth year. The series follows ordinary Palestinians through their daily lives, revealing the toll of the ongoing conflict.