'This truly is a war of extermination.'
By Alaa Hassouna: Since the start of the Gaza genocide in October 2023, I have been displaced several times.
Every house I went to was bombed with me inside.
I’ve survived death more than five times and lost relatives and loved ones, watching them torn apart before my eyes.
I slept fully dressed, in my mother’s embrace, fearing death.
My fiancé Safiq was stuck in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. But
communications were cut off by the Israeli occupation forces. I lived
in fear every minute, desperately wanting to know if he was OK.
I was torn between staying with my family in the north and facing
death, or going to my fiancé and seeking safety. I thought the south was
safer, and that I could get there without much trouble, reunite with
him, and start a life together, full of love, as we created a family.
Unfortunately, it was not that easy.
I went south in December.
My journey there is something I will never forget.
I walked over corpses left in the streets.
A person next to me was shot and killed by a sniper.
I will never forget his mother’s grief. She was right there to witness her son’s execution.