‘Israel Wants to Displace Our People’ – Stories from the Gaza Genocide

December 29, 2023 Articles, Features
The relentless Israeli bombardment by air, land and sea, has led to horrific scenes of suffering and collective pain. (Photo: via Eye on Palestine)

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza

“The people in Gaza are not asking for much: they just want to live with dignity, security, and peace.”

After 84 days of Israeli war on Gaza, not a single family in the whole of the Gaza Strip was not, in one way or another, harmed. 

The relentless Israeli bombardment by air, land and sea, has led to horrific scenes of suffering and collective pain unprecedented in the history of the conflict. 

It is as if Israel has decided to carry out mass, gradual execution of the whole population. Those who did not die as a result of the bombardment, shelling or sniping, are now perished due to the widespread famine and contagious diseases. 

The Palestine Chronicle spoke with several Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip who conveyed some of that reality. 

Ahmed Subh is a resident of Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. For his family, the Israeli war has exacted a tragic toll since the very start. 

‘Our Pain is Endless’ 

On the second day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit the house of Ahmed’s sister in central Gaza, killing her husband, their daughter, and two sons. 

“The family was still recovering from these tragic losses when another house was shelled by Israel, wounding my sister, her husband and their children,” Ahmed told the Palestine Chronicle. 

But the Subh family’s pain was not meant to end, as another family house was struck in Deir Al-Balah.

“My other sister lost her husband, while my brothers Saleh and Issa were wounded. Doctors were forced to amputate Issa’s foot,” Ahmed said.

For over 50 days, Ahmed and his family have been stationed at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, hoping for the recovery of their wounded relatives. 

But after 76 of Israel’s genocidal war, Ahmed received heartbreaking news of the death of his beloved brother Mahmoud.

“Our suffering is unspeakable and I only have two hopes left: that my remaining siblings will recover and that this horrifying war will end soon,” he said.

‘My Impossible Choices’ 

When Israeli occupation forces announced the expansion of their ground incursion, on December 22, residents of the northern areas of Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps were ordered to evacuate and head to Deir Al-Balah, also in the central Gaza Strip.

Despite declaring some areas as “safe zones”, Israel continued its relentless bombardment of all areas in the besieged and war-torn Strip.

“We don’t know where to escape from the bombings,” Luei Haji told The Palestine Chronicle. “In the beginning of the war, we decided to move from the Maghazi area to the Nuseirat refugee camp. Despite being told it was a safe zone, we experienced continuous airstrikes and bombings”.

People in Gaza think that Israel never gave up on the idea of forcibly displacing the population of the Strip. 

“All stages of the war seem to be aimed at gradually displacing Gaza’s residents,” Mohammed Farajallah told The Palestine Chronicle.  

“They started evacuating the northern areas, and now they are doing the same with central Gaza. They will soon order the evacuation of the south,” he added.

Ayman Abu Atiwi, who lives near the Gaza Valley, told us that he had to face hard choices.

“I haven’t left my house for 75 days,” he said. “Despite the intense Israeli shelling in my neighborhood, I still don’t know what to do; whether we are displaced or we stay in our home, my family will have to face the ongoing attacks and destruction.”

Abu Atiwi called on the international community to halt the Israeli war on Gaza, stop the bloodshed that has claimed over 21,000 Palestinian lives, and prevent Israel from carrying out its displacement plans. 

“The people in Gaza are not asking for much: they just want to live with dignity, security, and peace.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a contributor for The Palestine Chronicle from the Gaza Strip. His email is abdallahaljamal1987@gmail.com

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