For a few weeks now, the Israeli military has been issuing forced displacement orders to residents of Gaza City, destroying towers and carpet-bombing neighbourhoods. Hundreds of thousands have fled south already, where they have found no safety.
Just yesterday, we mourned with heavy hearts and deep sorrow the killing of three members of the family of my father’s cousin, Yousef. The building where they had found shelter in the south was bombed just days after they fled Gaza City. Nedaa, Yousef’s wife, along with their children Roaa, 19, and Hamoud, 11, were killed.
The south of Gaza is not a safe zone, as the Israelis claim. Tents of displaced people are attacked every day. The fact of the matter is that Palestinians in Gaza City now have a choice between two deaths – staying or leaving; both are deadly.
I have decided to stay. Remaining in Gaza City is dangerous, yes, but leaving would mean abandoning my home, my neighbourhood, my roots, and my identity. This is where I grew up and spent my childhood and youth, where I took my first breath and my first steps, where my family gathered for every occasion, where my dreams bloomed and my memories were made. This is the city where I was born and wanted to die of old age. To abandon it would be to lose myself.
My colleagues and friends have been asking me, “Where’s your next destination if the Israeli Occupation Forces invaded your neighbourhood?” I would always pause, trying to think of a good answer. I will move between neighbourhoods and go to the east of Gaza City, I would respond. Leaving the city is not an option for me.
They would insist, “But the Israeli ground invasion pushes deeper into the heart of the city, and the tanks keep advancing closer to your neighbourhood, so please leave and flee to the south with your family, Huda.” My response would be the same: My only destination is Gaza City. I don’t know anyone in the south, nor do I have a tent or a place to stay.
A week ago, I decided to pack two bags in case the building where I am staying was hit or if I was forced to move east. I wondered how I could fit everything I wanted to take. In the end, I chose only two winter outfits and two summer ones, and added my books, notebooks, a photo album, a few accessories, my favourite perfume, my headphones, and my phone charger.
It is not my first time preparing to flee. In November 2023, the Israeli army invaded my neighbourhood without warning. My family and I fled under the constant shelling and artillery fire. It was the first time I saw tanks and Israeli soldiers face-to-face. Then, several months later, in early 2024, we were besieged again, this time for nine long days. We could not move. There was relentless bombardment day and night. Food dwindled, and water was scarce. Eventually, the IOF stormed our home and detonated explosives in it.
They forced us into an excavated hole outside in the street, where we were surrounded by tanks and armed soldiers. They forced the men to take off their clothes, blindfolded them, tied their hands and legs, and kept them like that for seven hours in the bitter cold. Then they forced us to go to the south, not allowing us to take anything with us. My family and I were only able to return to Gaza City in January this year.
Excerpted: ‘I have decided to stay in Gaza City as
Israel seeks to wipe it out’. Courtesy: Aljazeera.com
