Israel has brought a violent earthquake upon the civilians of Gaza. But we also need a Palestinian leadership that protects our lives.
Palestinians who were evacuated from their homes take shelter at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip,
+972 Magazine January 25, 2024
The following was written by a Gaza-based Palestinian journalist, known to +972 Magazine, who requested anonymity for themselves and their interviewees out of concern for their safety.
The war is still being waged against us, the civilians of Gaza, after more than 100 days. We are still suffering and aching from the bitter reality of our lives, which are not lives at all. There is little talk of an end to the war, or even any rumors that could comfort our exhausted hearts. A ceasefire seems like an impossible dream that will never be achieved.
No one expected the war to continue for so long. No one expected the extent of the destruction and deaths that we have reached. We are all asking, praying, screaming: Will it ever end?
Yesterday, I called one of my friends to check in on him and his family. We laughed and joked as we cursed the war that divided us, destroyed us, and obliterated our dreams. When I asked him about his father, he went silent for a few seconds before answering: “My father was martyred, along with my brother Malik.”
I wished then that I had not asked him about his father, and that we could have just continued cursing the war. I wished that the mobile connection had not patched through on our ninth attempt. At the end of the call, he asked me: “Is it possible that Hamas and Israel will agree to a ceasefire? Oh God, I hope the war will end.”
Palestinians mourn their loved ones killed earlier in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah at Al-Najjar Hospital, southern Gaza Strip, December 12, 2023. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills)
We in Gaza are literally dying every day, every minute, every second. Our lives have been turned upside down since October 7, and now only revolve around our most basic needs. Where can we find water? Is there any aid coming in? Where do we go to collect it? Do we get flour today from Salah al-Din Street or Al-Rashid Street? Have the tanks withdrawn from this area or are they still there? Can I go to my house to inspect it? Is it safe to gather my children’s clothes from their rooms?
The fear that dominates me now is the fear of becoming normalized to this reality. That fear extends to the continued and shameful silence of foreign governments to our suffering. But it’s not only them: the absence of the Palestinian government — or perhaps two different governments — and the Palestinian parties is deafening.
I do not know anymore, or perhaps I cannot know, who is to blame for our suffering. Certainly, the main cause is the Israeli government. But we are beginning to wonder: Has the world agreed with Israel to eliminate us? Is Hamas cooperating with Israel? Where is the Palestinian Authority? Why have Israel and Hamas not yet reached any kind of solution? Are American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediations not enough?
Does the Hamas government or the Palestinian Authority have answers to our daily questions? Do they know how we can meet our basic needs? Our dignity and our lives are being violated daily, and no one is providing us with help — do they know, but just don’t care?
More …
