What I learned documenting the genocide around me in Gaza
Destruction in Khan Yunis in Gaza on 25 December 2025.
Huda Skaik writes in The New Arab on 9 January 2026:
After over two years of genocide in Gaza, time has taken on a strange, fractured meaning. Days stretch endlessly, yet months disappear without warning. I lost an entire year of my education, but thankfully journalism filled the gap, providing me with the tools to navigate my reality. It taught me lessons no university ever could, on humanity, silence, faith, survival, and the extraordinary depths of the human spirit.
This genocide has rewritten every part of my life. But it has also rewritten my understanding of the world.
During this genocide, I’ve seen the best of people. I’ve seen starved neighbours share their last piece of bread, strangers pull children from under rubble, starved doctors work without medicine, starved journalists risk everything to tell the truth. And that, perhaps, is what keeps me believing in the value of life — even when life feels unbearable.
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Perspective
The genocide has taught us to appreciate what the world usually overlooks and to cherish the smallest things: the ability to walk without pain, to sleep under a roof, to have a warm house with four walls, to find a meal that fills the stomach, to wake up and find your loved ones alive.
These are no longer simple details — they are blessings we hold tightly. It’s changed what we prioritise. Now, we no longer mourn the material things we lost. Buildings can be rebuilt, but who can rebuild our beloved souls?