A Palestinian student stands on her best friend's balcony, before the war in Gaza began. Photo shared with CNN by student

A 22-year-old Palestinian student planned to be in the US this month, preparing her dorm room ahead of starting her first semester at an American university. Instead, she is still in Gaza, desperately trying to gather food, water and internet access after being forced to flee her home in Gaza City after Israel launched a ground operation to seize an area where approximately a million people live.

“You’re just escaping and just going to nowhere,” she told CNN by phone this week. “I just wake up crying. I just sleep crying. I was hoping (for) something far away from what I’m living right now and what I’m living right now is like a nightmare.”

In the fall of 2024 th

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