The Occupation Killed Every Member of My Family by Bombing Our Home
My name is Mohammed Ali Al-Bibi, I am 17 years old, a tenth-grade student. I used to live with my family in our house in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. Our life was peaceful and beautiful before the war, but everything changed during this war, and I lost everything I had.
Displaced in 1948 and Today, Surviving Another Nakba and Genocide
My name is Mohammed Abdul Jabbar Abu Seif. I was 15 years old during the occupation of Palestine in 1948. Now, I am 91 years old, and I know that this war is larger than 1948 Nakba. My testament to my children and grandchildren is to never leave Gaza.
Under Siege in Khan Younis
My name is Manar Wadi, I am 30 years old. I am from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. I was under siege in Al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for a month long. During that time, I saw death at every moment, and fled under from heavy shelling. I don't know how I am still alive.
Teaching 200 Children in Displacement Camps: How I Turn Displacement Tents into Schools
My name is Ikram Talaat Ahmed. I am 29 years old. This is the story of our great loss caused by the Israeli occupation during their war on the Gaza Strip, and my resistance to the occupation through education.
Today, I Sell Chips, but Tomorrow, I Will Be a Doctor
My name is Aseel Al-Hawajri, I am a 14 year old student from Juhar Al-Dik in Gaza, selling chips and sweets to provide my family with money to get by. Today we are displaced, but tomorrow the war will stop, and we will return to rebuild our homes. I will continue studying until I achieve my dream.
Widowed on the Fifth Day of the War
My name is Fidaa Abdullah Al-Shakhreet, I am 32 years old, from Beit Hanoun. On the fifth day of the war, my husband was martyred. I have now become both a mother and a father to my children.
Israel Killed my Daughter on her Third Birthday
My name is Tareq Fareed Al Hajj. I am 30 years old. It happened on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the birthday of my little daughter Suwar, who turned 3 years old. I had promised her that her birthday would be special, but on her third birthday, the occupation killed her.
Creating Joy Despite Displacement
My name is Akram Abdul Nabi Al-Ajrami. I am 61 years old. I used to own a beautiful house in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Now, I spend my time organizing recreational and educational activities for children and all residents of the tents. This is my daily life as a displaced person living in a tent in the city of Deir al-Balah.
Providing Medical Services Under Impossible Conditions
My name is Ahmed Nasr Halas, and I am 42 years old. The occupation destroyed the two pharmacies I owned in Gaza City. Despite this, I opened another one in my tent as I felt a responsibility to serve the displaced people of my nation.
Raising My Martyred Son’s Children
My name is Nasreen Naeem Al-Hilu, and I am 47 years old, from Gaza City. My dream is for the war to end, to return to my home and rebuild it again, and for my Lord to grant me the strength to raise my orphaned grandchildren, educate them well, and protect them as they are the trust of my martyred sons.
The Israeli Occupation Steals the Dreams of Palestinian Students
My name is Mohammed Al-Taweel, I am 23 years old. I am from the Bureij camp in central Gaza. My dream is to finish my English degree, but the Israeli war displaced my family and took everything from us. Now, I cut hair to provide my family with funds to maintain our tent.
Birth and Death Under Israeli Bombs
My name is Hajj Abu Sultan, I am 58 years old. I am from the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza, where my home was bombed by Israel, resulting in the martyrdom of 10 of my family members and my wife, Ahlam Mohammed Abu Sultan. My dream is for the war to stop.
Only My Brother and I Survived the Bombing of Our Home
My name is Hala Al-Najmi, I am 13 years old. I am from the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, where the occupation forces bombed my home, killing everyone in my family except my brother and I. My dream is for the war to stop and for my brother to walk again.
Light in Gaza: Storytellng and Survival in Gaza
Last year, AFSC brought together perspectives from Palestinian writers from Gaza in the book, "Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire.” The anthology features essays and poems of 11 Palestinian writers from Gaza to people around the world.
Light in Gaza: Agriculture, gender, and storytelling
Last year, AFSC brought together perspectives from Palestinian writers from Gaza in the book, "Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire.” The anthology features essays and poems of 11 Palestinian writers from Gaza to people around the world.
Married but Apart
In his chapter in Light on Gaza: Writings Born of Fire--“Travel Restrictions as a Manifestation of Nakba: Gaza, the Path Backward Is the Path Forward”--Yousef Aljamal writes about the continuation of the Nakba as manifested through Israel’s control of Palestinians’ freedom of movement.
Light in Gaza: Haymarket Book Launch
On October 6, AFSC and Haymarket Books launched Light in Gaza with a webinar event featuring contributors Refaat Alareer, Mosab Abu Toha, and Jehad Abusalim. Refaat, Mosab, and Jehad spoke about storytelling in Gaza and imagining a future for Gaza beyond the blockade.
The event, livestreamed on Haymarket Books' YouTube Channel, is available to watch here: https://youtu.be/4u6aagh4ZIE
Public Events Speaking Tour 2023
Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire brings together sixteen essays and poems by twelve Palestinian writers. The book includes political essays, personal narratives, economic analysis, and poetry. The book is edited by American Friends Service Committee staff Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, and Mike Merryman-Lotze and published by Haymarket Books.
The Israeli arms companies that will profit from the latest assault on Gaza
Weapons and surveillance manufacturers have an interest in maintaining Gaza as a playground for any technology Israel wishes to test on Palestinians.
Republished from +972 Magazine
Witnessing the latest attacks on Gaza: An interview with AFSC Gaza staff members Serena Awad and Ali Abdalbari
On Aug. 5, 2022, Israel launched another military assault of Gaza. Over three days, the attacks killed at least 47 people—including 16 children—and injured over 300.
In this interview, Gaza Program Officer Serena Awad and Program Coordinator Ali Abdalbari share their experiences from the escalation—and how communities have worked to recover since then.
In photos: Providing school supplies for children in Gaza
Earlier this year, AFSC supporters like you donated to help purchase school supplies for children in Gaza. Thank you to everyone who has made a gift so far!
55 years after Six-Day War, we must move beyond partition and Apartheid
This week marks 55 years since the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the Syrian Golan.
Helping children in Gaza get ready for school
In May 2021, Israeli air raids destroyed many homes and schools in the Gaza Strip. The attacks came as the COVID-19 pandemic was already preventing many students from attending school.
National study shows many Americans oppose Gaza blockade
Every year, the U.S. wastes $3.8 billion dollars sending weapons to Israel and funding its military. With U.S. taxpayer funds, thousands of Palestinians have been killed or displaced. Countless homes, hospitals, schools, and other institutions have been destroyed.