The hearts of the people of Gaza can no longer bear the scenes and stories they experienced during Israel’s war of extermination in Gaza, written in the blood of their children and the rubble of their homes, and witnessed by the sky, after the earth became too small for them during the hundreds of days they lived in pain and suffering.
The occupation stole the lives and dreams of the people of Gaza and turned them into hell during the days of war, which were filled with scenes and human stories that the people of Gaza cannot forget, even if the whole world forgets them. In this report, we review some of the stories that remain as witnesses to history during the war that has lasted 638 days and continues.
Displacement from Gaza
A simple word that began to appear and be repeated from the first day of the war on Gaza. Simple in its pronunciation, but in reality it means the soul leaving the body. It was not a one-time occurrence, but rather the people of Gaza experienced the bitterness of displacement many times until it became a painful reality:
Displacement under fire: you head east and are bombed, you return west and are bombed, you try to escape carrying your children and a few belongings, you walk long distances on foot, then spending long hours looking for a place to shelter, only to find the street or empty land to sit and sleep at night without a jacket or a place to sleep. Those who find a tent to sleep in are lucky.
What you hear and what you don’t hear, no writer can use the letters, words, and dictionaries of language to describe the pain of displacement, as they would be unable to convey its pain and suffering to someone who has not actually experienced it. However, the repeated horrific scenes of displacement can tell you 1% of the true meaning of displacement if you think deeply or imagine the scene as reality.
Writing children’s names on their bodies
In the midst of Israeli massacres and slaughter, targeting hundreds of people and children in their homes, some parents were forced to write their children’s names on their limbs or bodies, so that even if they were martyred, torn to pieces, or disfigured, they could gather their remains in a single shroud:
Mothers forced to leave their premature babies to face their fate
In a dark moment that defies description, the occupation forced mothers and families to leave their premature babies and not transfer them to other places from Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital, which was stormed by the Israeli occupation and whose medical staff was expelled. After a while, the occupation withdrew from the hospital, and the parents returned to find the bodies of their premature babies decomposed on the hospital beds:
The spirit of the spirit
In a scene that resonated with the whole world, Grandfather Khaled Nabhan appeared in a video carrying the body of his granddaughter, Reem, and addressing the people, saying, “This is the spirit of the spirit.” This phrase became so popular that not a day went by without people around the world repeating it.
No sooner had people begun to forget this scene and the phrase “the soul of souls” than the occupation assassinated Grandfather Khaled Nabhan, who became a martyr, and his soul ascended to join “the soul of souls,” causing the world to react once again to this unforgettable event.
Dogs eat the bodies of martyrs
From the body of Muhammad Bahar, a patient with Down syndrome, whom the occupation soldiers set a trained dog on, which began to eat him while he was still alive in a room alone, far from his mother, who was in another room and could hear him crying out in a language that only his mother understood, until Muhammad’s voice faded and his life ended after the dog ate him:
The bodies of dozens of martyrs were left in the streets and roads, where they were eaten by dogs on live television and in front of the whole world, until some eyewitnesses said that they could see the skeletons of the martyrs, whom no one was able to reach and recover.
The children died of hunger in Gaza
The mother screamed at the top of her voice in the hospital courtyard, “The children died without eating.” She repeated it, her heart breaking, tears filling her eyes.
A video clip of this woman, who lost her children during the war, went viral. In it, she says, “My son disappeared from my arms and died. Where are my children? Someone reassure me about my children.” The clip was widely shared, and her story was etched in people’s memories and became unforgettable.
Hind Rajab, “the child who was killed among the bodies of her family”
In a tragic scene that captured the world’s attention for 12 days, the fate of 6-year-old Hind Rajab remained unknown after the occupation executed four members of her family who were with her in a car with a barrage of bullets. She was left alone and called out to her mother, who communicated with her before the connection was cut off. The whole world heard the recorded call in which the child asked for help.
Hind’s cries as she called out to her mother, “Come, Mom, take me with you,” echoed around the world until the Palestinian Red Crescent found her body after all the organizations that tried to save her failed:
Tala and her skates
Tala Abu Ajwa wore pink skates to distract herself a little from the pressures of war and try to play for a while after convincing her mother, who had refused out of fear for her safety.
Tala was enjoying the last moment of joy in her life when the occupation’s missiles struck her and ended her childhood. Tala appeared in a video clip when her body arrived at the hospital, still wearing her pink roller skates, her image immortalized in the sad stories of genocide:
Torture, rape, and murder of prisoners
In the most heinous crimes imaginable, were committed against Palestinian prisoners arrested by the occupation forces in Gaza during the war. Israeli media circulated a leaked video from internal cameras in the Sde Timan detention center documenting the sexual assault of a Palestinian prisoner from Gaza by Israeli soldiers inside the prison, which witnessed unbearable torture, according to the testimonies of some prisoners who were released after a period of detention.
The occupation carried out the most severe torture to death against a number of prisoners, especially some doctors who died in prison as a result of torture and rape. The occupation prevents the United Nations from investigating sexual crimes in its detention centers, to the extent that the occupation prevented the United Nations from investigating sexual crimes in its detention centers.
O Lord, stop the rain
Don’t be surprised that this is the cry of the people of Gaza when it rains in winter, simply because their tents are flooded by rainwater without any protection.
At a time when the people of Gaza used to enjoy winter and its atmosphere, they now cry out and pray that it will not rain, for fear of drowning while they sleep at night.
The sight of the tents of the displaced in Gaza flooded with rainwater cannot be overlooked without reflection, at a time when their lives lack the minimum requirements for human life, and what can be imagined in that scene is more than can be written.
Life in tents in Gaza
Between the scorching summer heat and the bitter cold of winter, life in tents has become another face of death in Gaza, after families reduced every detail of their lives to a canvas tent no larger than 10 square meters, where they spend every moment of their lives. It is where they sleep, sit, cook, and keep all their belongings.
They sit inside the “tattered” tent, scorched by the summer heat and suffocated by the stifling atmosphere. When they leave, they are exposed to the scorching sun or the cold winter rain, which the tattered tent fabric and a few pieces of nylon tied together with string to protect them from drowning cannot shield them from.
Children dying of hunger and cold
“The children died of hunger and their blood froze in their veins from the cold.” This is a fact that perhaps not everyone believes, but it happened in Gaza in front of a world that was unable to protect the children and provide them with the necessary heating and shelter.
What I have read is not a figment of the imagination, but a reality that happened in Gaza. Yes, in the 21st century, children in Gaza died of starvation and froze to death.
The occupation deliberately used starvation as a weapon, spreading it and intensifying it in all areas of the Gaza Strip during months of war, This has led to a shortage of milk and other essential nutrients for children, while the cold has killed eight children and continues to do so, due to the severe cold that prevails in Gaza and ravages the tents of displaced persons scattered in the open and on the coast, without the world being able to provide shelter to protect them from the severe cold and heavy rains.
The fierce famine
“No one dies of hunger” is a saying that has remained steadfast for decades across the world, but it has fallen in Gaza, where people have been forced to grind animal feed to use instead of flour and uproot tree leaves to cook for food.
The occupation did not stop there, but deliberately bombed and killed hundreds of citizens who gathered in front of aid distribution points to obtain flour during the darkest times of the famine, which did not spare a single area but spread to all areas of the Gaza Strip, north and south, to the point that people lost a lot of weight due to starvation.
The inverted red triangle
The inverted red triangle became a historical symbol of the events of the war on Gaza after the Palestinian resistance used it in videos showing resistance operations against the Israeli occupation, until it became the most widely circulated symbol in the world, especially on social media platforms, and became known to signify the Gaza war and resistance operations. and a slogan for those in solidarity with the Palestinians around the world.
The widespread use of the red triangle symbol and its association with the Palestinian resistance prompted Meta to restrict the inverted red triangle symbol on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
The American who set himself on fire for Gaza
On 25 February 2024, Aaron Buschnell, a 25-year-old soldier in the US Air Force, died after setting himself on fire outside the front gate of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. He did so in a live video broadcast, saying he was protesting “what the people of Palestine are suffering at the hands of their colonizers.” He declared that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide,” then doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire, sustaining severe injuries that led to his death the following day:
Animal-drawn carts transport the martyrs
Fuel has completely run out in Gaza, and ambulances have stopped working, but the massacres, killings, and shelling continue unabated, forcing citizens to transport the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded on animal-drawn carts to cover the long distance to hospitals
In addition to the lack of ambulances for medical teams and medical supplies for hospitals, the wounded are crying out for help with no one to respond. The bodies of the martyrs lie in the streets and roads, with no one able to retrieve them unless an animal-drawn cart is available to transport the bodies to hospitals, and then to use the animals to transport the bodies of the martyrs to the cemetery for burial:
20 months without electricity
Can you believe the headline? Yes, since 7 October Gaza has been living without electricity, in complete darkness, to the point that after such a long period, some people have said, “Is it possible that we will see electricity again?”
The constant power outages have completely paralyzed life in Gaza, especially hospitals, many of which have shut down due to the lack of electricity and fuel for generators.
Imagine that for more than 630 days, the only light came from a mobile phone flashlight, and those who were lucky enough to be able to charge their phones could use them to illuminate the darkness of night for their young children.
Drinking unsafe water in Gaza
In a civilized world that has long advocated for human rights, the situation in Gaza has reached the point where people are forced to drink unsafe water. At times, they have been forced to desalinate seawater because they could not find fresh water suitable for drinking and were forced to drink regular water.
During months of war, the Israeli occupation deliberately destroyed water wells throughout the Gaza Strip and prevented aid from crossing into Gaza, causing Gaza to suffer a major crisis in the availability of drinking water, which contributed to the spread of disease.
People stand in long queues to obtain drinking water, which is a daily routine for everyone, some of whom return to their tents without bringing their children a drink of water to protect them from saltwater-related diseases.
A stick against a plane
He tried to shoot down the plane and threw a stick at it. This was the final scene in the life of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after he was killed in a ground battle with the occupation forces in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. The scene became a symbol of steadfastness, resistance, and defiance, and an icon that spread throughout the world, in thought, image, and influence.
The doctor who was left alone, just as Gaza was left alone
Another scene that almost everyone in the world reacted to was when Dr. Husam Abu Safiya walked with tired feet toward the occupation tank that was waiting for him on the ground and under the drone that was following his steps in the air. The scene ended quickly when the doctor entered the occupation tank and disappeared, bringing down the curtain on a story full of patience and defiance after he had endured long months providing medical services to the wounded at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza:
Activists and Twitter users reacted to this scene under the hashtag “The doctor who was left alone,” just as Gaza was left alone during 15 months of relentless war against the people of Gaza, who suffered the horrors of occupation and deliberate attempts to make Gaza uninhabitable by destroying all health, education, and sports sectors, as well as hundreds of thousands of homes and residences.
Featured image and additional images via the Canary
By Alaa Shamali
This post was originally published on Canary.