Displaced in Gaza: Recounting stories from the Gaza genocide
Published by Haymarket Books, in collaboration with the American Friends Service Committee and the Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies, the book offers raw, unfiltered voices from the heart of Gaza's ongoing nightmare.
A searing chronicle of a people's suffering under genocide, it is also a celebration of their enduring humanity and hope.
From the start, Displaced in Gaza makes clear that these stories are not mere accounts of pain and loss; they are assertions of identity, resilience and resistance.
Reading the testimonies is an emotionally charged experience, one that leaves the reader shaken by the horrors described within.
Palestinians in Gaza retrieve aid amid the Israeli-imposed siege on the territory in June (AFP)
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Middle East Eye
27 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Falling aid crate kills Palestinian nurse in Gaza
A Palestinian man has been crushed to death after a crate fell on him during an aerial aid drop over Gaza on Monday. According to The Independent, Oday al-Quraan was waiting for planes carrying aid to drop their cargo, but could not get out of the way when the crates landed. Israel has given permission for several states to drop aid into Gaza amid widespread starvation that has taken at least 180 lives since October 2023. The besieged Palestinian territory has been under complete siege since the war began, but Israeli officials have strengthened the blockade in recent months, leading to malnutrition and what the UN describes as a "worst-case scenario" of famine. "He is married and has two children. He was like every citizen in Gaza. He has been hungry for four months," Quraan's cousin Moatasem told the UK outlet. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters As Israel controls land entrances to Gaza and refuses to allow adequate aid into the territory over land, several countries have dropped aid over the territory from the air. Aid groups criticise the strategy as inefficient and incapable of providing the level of food and other resources needed by Palestinians in Gaza. Jordan blocks access to Middle East Eye after investigation on Gaza aid drops Read More » The falling crates also present a risk of death or injury for Palestinians who cannot move out of their way in time. In October 2024, Sami Mahmoud Ayyad, aged three, was killed when a parachute on an aid crate malfunctioned and fell on his tent in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza. More than a thousand Palestinians have also died at aid distribution sites run by the controversial Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Former US military officer and whistleblower Anthony Aguilar, who worked for the GHF as a contractor, said he witnessed the killing of Palestinians seeking aid by Israeli soldiers and mercenaries employed by the GHF.
Gulf Today
11 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Dozens killed as Palestinians in Gaza scramble for aid from air and land
Dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded on Monday as desperate crowds headed toward food distribution points and airdropped parcels in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and local health officials. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 60,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says around half the dead have been women and children, is staffed by medical professionals. The UN and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable casualty count. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide toward famine nearly 22 months into the war with Hamas. Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient. Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, but blame Hamas. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll. Palestinians struggle to get food and humanitarian aid from the back of a truck as it moves along the Morag corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday. AP As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza. The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate. In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods. On Monday, Palestinians cheered as pallets of aid were parachuted over Zuweida in central Gaza. Associated Press footage showed a desperate scramble when the parcels hit the ground, with hundreds of people racing toward them. Fistfights broke out and some men wielded batons. "I wish they would deliver it through the (land) crossings,' Rabah Rabah said earlier as he waited for the airdrop. "This is inhuman.' At least one parcel fell on a tent where displaced people had been sheltering, injuring a man who was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known. At least 16 people were killed late Sunday near the Israeli-controlled Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for aid to northern Gaza, according to records at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which showed that more than 130 people were wounded. Palestinians struggle to get food and humanitarian aid near Rafah. AP The circumstances were not immediately clear, but the crossing has seen several shootings in recent days that witnesses and health officials blamed on Israeli forces. There was no immediate comment from the military. At least 10 people were killed as thousands waited for aid trucks in the Morag Corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. Mohammed al-Masri, who was among the crowds, said Israeli forces opened fire when a group of young men tried to make their way to the front. "The occupation forces shot many people in the head and in the back,' he said, adding that he saw four wounded people, one motionless on the ground. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 10 bodies from Morag and another five who were killed near an aid site in southern Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. It said a new U.N. route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys. GHF says its contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots on a few occasions to prevent deadly crowding since it opened four sites in May. Palestinians carry packages of food taken from a humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. AP Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of eight people killed near a GHF site in the Israeli-controlled Netzarim Corridor, and that another 50 people were wounded. Witnesses and health officials said Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. An Associated Press photo showed a man carrying a body away from the site, as others hauled bags of food. "It's like yesterday, and the day before,' said Ayman Ruqab, a young Palestinian who said he had tried unsuccessfully to reach the site for the past three days. "It's a death trap." The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people who approached "in a manner that posed a threat to the troops,' without elaborating. It said it was not aware of any casualties. Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They still hold 50 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel has disputed the figures but hasn't provided its own. Associated Press
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Dire water shortages compound hunger, displacement in Gaza
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Gaza City spokesman Assem Al-Nabih told AFP that the municipality's part of the network supplied by Mekorot had not functioned in nearly two weeks. A boy fills up containers with water from the remaining water still left in underground pipes, in Beit Lahia. AFP Wells that supplied some needs before the war have also been damaged, with some contaminated by sewage which goes untreated because of the conflict. Many wells in Gaza are simply not accessible, because they are inside active combat zones, too close to Israeli military installations or in areas subject to evacuation orders. At any rate, wells usually run on electric pumps and energy has been scarce since Israel turned off Gaza's power as part of its war effort. Generators could power the pumps, but hospitals are prioritised for the limited fuel deliveries. Lastly, Gaza's desalination plants are down, save for a single site reopened last week after Israel restored its electricity supply. Nabih, from the Gaza City municipality, told AFP the infrastructure situation was bleak. More than 75 per cent of wells are out of service, 85 per cent of public works equipment destroyed, 100,000 metres of water mains damaged and 200,000 metres of sewers unusable. Pumping stations are down and 250,000 tonnes of rubbish is clogging the streets. "Sewage floods the areas where people live due to the destruction of infrastructure," says Mohammed Abu Sukhayla from the northern city of Jabalia. In order to find water, hundreds of thousands of people are still trying to extract groundwater directly from wells. But coastal Gaza's aquifer is naturally brackish and far exceeds salinity standards for potable water. A boy fills up containers with water from the remaining water still left in underground pipes, in Beit Lahia. AFP In 2021, the UN children's agency UNICEF warned that nearly 100 percent of Gaza's groundwater was unfit for consumption. 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Mahmoud Deeb, 35, acknowledged that the water he finds in Gaza City is often undrinkable, but his family has no alternative. "We know it's polluted, but what can we do? I used to go to water distribution points carrying heavy jugs on my back, but even those places were bombed," he added. At home, everyone is thirsty -- a sensation he associated with "fear and helplessness." "You become unable to think or cope with anything." Agence France-Presse
