For the past 45 days, an artist in Gaza, who obtained his visa to travel to Ireland in September, has been waiting to determine if he can depart.

“So tired. We are in an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe,” Mohammed Almadhoun told Al Jazeera wearily.

The artist, who hails from northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, left for the Rafah border crossing on October 9, paying a large sum to hire a car to take him south over roads made unsafe by Israeli shelling, he said.

He left his family behind. He cannot return to be with them again and they also cannot leave due to the relentless bombing.

His studio, with all his paintings spanning 25 years, was also destroyed in the bombings, now reduced to rubble, he said.

“It’s besiegement from everywhere, aircraft and tanks, bombing and destroying around the clock,” Almadhoun said.

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