What return to "normal" means for Palestinians: "The pandemic will eventually subside, and the world will begin to open again. But Gaza’s two million Palestinians will remain in a man-made lockdown so long as Israel continues to impose its cruel closure."
on April 22, 2020"The threat of COVID-19 looming over Gaza is perhaps a last opportunity to say what many refuse to hear: Gaza’s problem is not a lack of humanitarian aid, as urgent as it may be. It is territorial, demographic, and political."
on March 23, 2020Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, soap— all supples that are usually readily available. In Gaza, Israel's blockade has made everyday supplies a scarcity for over a decade. With a pandemic, things could get a lot worse for Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
on March 16, 202010-year-old Palestinian from Gaza Miral Abu Amsha died last Friday evening in a Jerusalem hospital. She died without her parents by her side because Israel barred them from leaving Gaza to be with her.
on March 9, 2020The majority of Gaza's population is under the age of thirty. New statistics now report that 70% are unemployed. Why? Because Israel's suffocating blockade keeps material and funds from entering the Strip.
on February 18, 2020Early in the morning on March 30, my 7-year-old son, Ali, saw me preparing to leave the house. This was unusual for our Friday routine. “Where are you going, Dad?” “To the border. To participate in the Great Return March.”
on April 28, 2018Israel’s killing of 18 Palestinian protesters in Gaza last Friday was entirely predictable. It was also entirely avoidable. The victims were taking part in the annual Land Day march commemorating the 1976 killing of six Palestinians who were protesting Israel’s confiscation of thousands of acres of their land.
on April 4, 2018Israeli bombs. Israeli drones. Israeli-imposed power cuts. And no way to leave. Everyday life in Gaza is shaped by Israeli policy, which has turned the coastal enclave into a maximum security prison where the inmates are fathers, mothers and children whose only crime is being born in Gaza.
on July 19, 2017I talked to my family in Gaza earlier this week and asked them: "How do you sleep at night when you don't have electricity?" The temperature at night there doesn't go below 74 degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity is high. My 12-year-old sister answered: "We don’t." She explained that even if they try to sleep, open all the windows, drink a lot of water - still, they can’t breathe.
on July 16, 2017