GAZA, (PIC)
In Gaza, the Nakba is no longer a memory in which Palestinians recall the stories of displacement in 1948, but has turned into a daily reality lived by more than 1.5 million displaced people, amidst tents, hunger, and fear, in light of a continuous war and siege that brought back scenes of displacement with harsher and wider dimensions.
In the Sanabel camp for the displaced in the far northwest of the Gaza Strip, worn-out tents spread over the sands of the coastal Al-Sudaniya area, while residents face the summer heat and the lack of basic life necessities, in a scene that reflects the extension of the Palestinian tragedy across generations, coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the Nakba. A tragedy beyond the Nakba
Inside one of the tents, the displaced man from Beit Hanoun, Abdul Karim Aqel, 52 years old, sits, recalling images of war, destruction, and the loss of loved ones. He says that what Palestinians are living today exceeds the traditional concept of the Nakba, describing what happened as an unprecedented war of genocide.
Aqel believes that the war did not only target Gaza militarily, but sought, with American support, to end the Palestinian cause and impose forced displacement, adding that the steadfastness of the Palestinians during the first months prevented the implementation of displacement plans outside Palestine.
He describes the reality of displacement as a siege within a siege, noting that the residents of the Strip were crammed into a narrow geographical area on the sea coast, while bombing, starvation, and the destruction of the components of life continue.
The man does not hide the scale of the psychological collapse experienced by the displaced, saying that many have come to see death as easier than the life of tents and deprivation, recalling scenes of the famine that hit the Strip, and the accompanying unprecedented humanitarian collapse.
The Israeli war of genocide on Gaza, which has been ongoing for two years, has left more than 72,000 martyrs and more than 172,000 wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to widespread destruction that affected nearly 90% of the civilian infrastructure, according to Palestinian data. #شاهد | أحيا الفلسطينيون في مدينة #خانيونس جنوبي قطاع غزة الذكرى الثامنة والسبعين للنكبة، مؤكدين تمسكهم بحق العودة ورفض أي مخططات للتهجير، رغم استمرار الحرب والنزوح والمعاناة. pic.twitter.com/uqwoW5Dqk3 — المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) May 13, 2026 Struggle for survival
In a neighboring tent, Asmahan Khulaif, 61 years old, displaced from Beit Lahia, tries to provide a narrow space for her grandchildren amidst the sand, while she talks about the lack of security and the continued bombing and the falling of victims on a daily basis.
She points with her hand to the worn-out roof of the tent, saying, “The tents do not protect us from the heat of summer or the cold of winter, and they do not protect us from bullets and shells.” The elderly woman recalls her previous life with regret, “Before the war, we had houses to shelter us, and life despite its simplicity was beautiful, but today we live in hell.”
She describes life in the camp as a “daily struggle for survival,” adding, “There are no markets, schools, or clinics, as if we have returned to the dark ages.”
Khulaif believes that the current Nakba has canceled social differences between people, explaining, “In the Nakba of 1948, the conditions were not like now, we have all become in similar conditions, social classes have melted away, and everyone has become in one crushed class.” الماء بثقل الحرب والنزوح.. سيدة مسنّة تعاني في نقل مياه الشرب في حي تل الهوا غرب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/kG7B6I6T77 — Ultra Palestine – الترا فلسطين (@palestineultra) May 13, 2026 Outside the scope of geography
As for Umm Alaa Salem Deeb, 53 years old, she says that what Gaza is witnessing today exceeds everything she heard from the stories of fathers and grandfathers about the Nakba of 1948, noting that the displacement camp in which she lives is completely isolated from the manifestations of life.
She explains that the area lacks transportation, markets, schools, and medical services, adding that children have begun to pay a heavy price for the war after being deprived of education and stability.
Umm Alaa recalls the moment of her displacement from her home under bombardment during the first months of the war, confirming that she lost most of her family members, including her daughter, while she still lives with the effects of shock and loss.
Despite the ceasefire agreement announced in October 2025, Israeli violations continue through daily shelling, the siege, and preventing the entry of sufficient quantities of food, medicine, and shelter materials, which has exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli violations since the start of the truce have resulted in the martyrdom of 856 Palestinians and the injury of 2,463 others, amidst continuous warnings of the worsening famine and the collapse of health and humanitarian conditions.