As the year 2023 came to an end, and wistfulness filled the air with hopes for the new tidings; the whole world was left startled with the unfolding of the largest humanitarian crisis of this century.

While we lamented at the visuals of unimaginable destruction, loss, and unsurmountable pain, there were people living that reality.

Men, women, and children with plans for the weekend and dreams to fulfill; many wrapping their chores early to take a walk by the sea. Millions of such diverse individuals who were now only spoken of words wrapped in tragedy; all merged into one.

Surviving war isn’t a blanket experience; there are many facets which remain unheard. This collection is pertinent in bringing focus to the diverse human stories behind the crisis, the emotions that rang loudly in the silence of the night, when the shutters went down and the dust had settled.

Throughout the year, 30 people living in the Gaza strip, of varied ages and ethnographies, penned their feelings, fears, memories, thoughts, and hopes on the tempestuous days of war. Each story is a reminder of the world held within every person and how humanity at large was at stake with them.

About the Authors

Mohammed Al-Zaqzooq is a researcher born in Khan Younis. He studied Arabic language and literature at Al-Aqsa. Mohammed is an active member in literary and cultural organizations shaping Gaza’s cultural landscape and the former general coordinator of the ‘Utopia for Knowledge’ assembly. His poetry collection The Soothsayers of Khanun won the Khalili Poetry Award at the First Palestinian Cultural Forum for Creative Writers in 2018.

Mahmoud Alshaer is an editor, curator, and poet who, until October 2023, was deeply involved in cultural work in Gaza, leading initiatives such as Majalla 28 and Gallery 28 and coordinating the cultural programme at Al Ghussein Cultural House in Gaza’s old city.