Hamza tells me that he and his family survived and experienced a miracle last night. Like many families in Gaza, they have tried to find a space where they may extend their lives as American bombs drop from British / French warplanes piloted by colonial Israeli occupiers of Palestine.
I met Hamza during one of the Zionist regime’s bombardments of Gaza Strip a few years ago. Radio 786 makes special effort to speak to people on the ground who are experiencing the brutality of the Israeli attacks, and my only contact with Hamza was through Whatsapp messages.
It was Ramadaan when I first interviewed Hamza. It was meant to be a happy and spiritual time for all Muslims, but as always, the Palestinians’ supplications during the fasting month had taken on another dimension; they would participate in the funeral of a loved one, or neighbour.
Back then he recounted the terror experienced by his family and the children of Gaza. These are children who only know the siege, who only know that life is hard. Yet it is those same children we see smiling at us through social media posts from UNRWA shelters. It is those same children who become dust covered rag dolls being pulled from the rubble as Israel targets another “terrorist” in Gaza. Those same children whose little bodies will be stored in an ice cream truck because the morgues are full.
This time round, winter is drawing closer. There is no water, electricity, or food. Yet Hamza tells me that his family survived and experienced a miracle last night.
They were standing on the balcony, probably trying to escape the thought of crushing suffocation that a bombed building could have on their bodies.
Suddenly the house next to theirs is bombed, with the rubble and shrapnel flying everywhere, and covering Hamza’s family as they stood frozen in shock.
He describes the roof raining rocks and shrapnel, and concludes with an “alhamdulillah we are all safe and not hurt”.
But then they were confronted by the sound of people crying and calling for help.
Three of his neighbours were martyred last night, and four were injured.
Hamza and his family survived and experienced a miracle last night. They’ve also had to relocate three times in as many weeks to try and keep safe from the Israeli bombardments on the enclave.
His three neighbours will likely be buried in a mass grave as Gaza is overrun with death. The four injured will need treatment from a hospital that doesn’t have electricity, water, or anaesthetic. A hospital that may soon be a target of another American bomb fired by an Israeli colonial settler.
And then Muhammad in Nuseirat sends a text first apologising for not answering his phone, and then saying that this may be his last night.
He asks for our prayers.
