'Digital lifeline' - Gaza tech workers give glimpse of possible future

Image caption, Walaa Volidis supports her displaced parents and four younger siblingsByYolande KnellCrossing Continents, BBC Radio 4, Reporting fromJerusalem"I was just in a trough, drowning in uncertainty," says Walaa Volidis, a Palestinian software engineer. "But deep inside, I made a decision: it will not be the end, no matter how hard it gets. I'll keep fighting for my dreams."Wearing a headset and glued to her laptop, Walaa discusses AI on a video call with her mentor in California's Silicon Valley. The 24-year-old wants to keep her skills up to date.But that is the least of her daily challenges as she lives in a tent in central Gaza supporting her displaced parents and four younger siblings."When the war started, I lost everything: my job, my university, even some of my family members. My sisters were injured," Walaa tells me from a co-working space in Deir al-Balah. She says her mental health was "totally destroyed", but she prioritised finding work.Walaa is one of thousands of young Gazans now pursuing roles in the digital economy. "It's a kind of momentum," she says. "I have my main goal every single day to go to work, to finish my tasks. If you stop or cry about your situ...