Haymarket Books
Displaced in Gaza: Stories from the Gaza Genocide is a collection of personal testimonies from Palestinians in Gaza who have been repeatedly displaced within their homeland since October 7, 2023. These testimonies, commissioned by the Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies at Universiti Malaya, were collected in May 2024. This volume, produced in collaboration with the American Friends Service Committee, aims to raise global awareness about the violent and forced displacement inflicted upon Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli military and the impact that this displacement has had on every aspect of their lives. Each story is unique, yet the endurance of the Palestinian people remains a common thread, linking together these stories of hope and loss. Yousef Aljamal concludes the book’s introduction with the words: “The stories in Displaced in Gaza make one important thing clear: The time to act is now.”
Foreword
By Ahmed Alnaouq, July 2024
The displacement of the Palestinians is not a new phenomenon. It did not come about recently due to the ongoing genocide in Gaza; it has been the defining feature of the Palestinian struggle and existence. It’s been more than seventy-six years since the Nakba, and the Palestinian people are still living in exile and displacement, both inside and outside their homeland. The 700,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes and lands due to the ethnic cleansing enforced by Israel in 1948 now constitute the majority of the residents of the Gaza Strip and refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and elsewhere. But the displacement of Palestinians didn’t end in 1948; it has continued and is still ongoing.
From the crowded refugee camps of Lebanon, to the Yarmouk camp in Syria, to Jordan, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, displaced Palestinians have been at the forefront of the liberation movement of Palestine. They have led the way with courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to justice.
Within the confines of refugee camps and amid displacement, the powerful works of Palestinian authors and intellectuals have reflected the endurance and steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their devotion to their homeland. Legendary Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani, born in Acre and displaced to Lebanon, is immortalized in his works like Men in the Sun and Returning to Haifa. Written during his exile, these works explore themes of identity, loss, and the might of the Palestinian people. Mahmoud Darwish, another noted Palestinian poet of exile and resistance, was born in al-Birwa and gained international acclaim with collections such as Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? Samih al-Qasim, a native of Zarqa and a resident of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, wrote poignant poetry about resistance and identity in his book Sadder Than Water, among other works. Fadwa Tuqan, the “poet of Palestine” from Nablus, captured the pain of exile in her collection Alone with the Days. Ibrahim Nasrallah, born in the Wihdat refugee camp in Jordan, chronicled Palestinian history and struggles in his novel Time of White Horses.
Despite the hardships of displacement, these intellectuals have kept the flame of Palestinian identity alive. They not only inspired future generations, but also inked the history of Palestinians in exile and paved the way for this generation to follow suit.
Now, Gaza, my home, finds itself at the epicenter of genocide again—facing ethnic cleansing by means of the same practices that claimed the lives and properties of our grandparents in 1948, but with far more abhorrent crimes. During this genocide, I’ve lost most of my immediate family members—my father, two brothers, three sisters, and my fourteen nieces and nephews, all children. As I write this, The Lancet has estimated that the death toll could exceed 186,000 Palestinians, all having lost their lives directly and indirectly from the merciless machinery of Israeli barbarism. Palestinians in Gaza find themselves once again forced to live displaced within the world’s largest open-air prison. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s population have been forced to evacuate from their homes and lands.
During the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba seventy-six years ago, Palestinians
took it upon themselves to immortalize their stories, documenting these massacres in writing. But the old did not die, and the young did not forget, as Zionist leaders wrongly assumed they would. Palestinians, within the confines of their prison in Gaza, are once again writing their stories and recording history. The importance of Palestinians writing their own stories cannot be overstated. In a world where our voices are too often marginalized or misrepresented, storytelling becomes an act of resistance, a declaration of our humanity. Through our words, we reclaim our narrative, ensuring that our experiences are not only heard, but felt by those who might never understand the true cost of dispossession.
For more than ten months of this genocide, Palestinians in Gaza have spoken out from the crowded alleyways of makeshift refugee camps and the hospitals and schools used as shelters. Palestinians are writing their stories, documenting both the horror of the war and the resilience of the people. Everyone in Gaza is now a citizen journalist, determined more than ever to confront and challenge the Western media narrative—the demonizing and dehumanizing of the Palestinians, the lack of agency recognized, and the distortion of truth. Young people and Gaza elders are recording testimonies—narrating their stories for the world to read.
In the face of such overwhelming adversity, the act of storytelling becomes a lifeline, a means of asserting our humanity and preserving our narrative. It is through the power of writing that we can transcend the constraints of our circumstances and connect with others on a profound level. The stories in this collection are not merely accounts of suffering; they are expressions of resilience, hope, and the unbreakable bond that ties us to our homeland.
The process of writing and sharing these stories has been a deeply cathartic experience for the authors. It has allowed them to confront their pain, find solace in the practice of writing, and contribute to a collective memory that will endure for generations. Each story is a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Palestinian people. They are a declaration that we will not be defined by our suffering, but by our strength, our creativity, and our commitment to resist the occupation by every means possible.
In 2015, I co-founded We Are Not Numbers (WANN) with the belief that every Palestinian has a story worth telling. Our mission is to provide a platform for these stories, to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced, and to challenge the dominant narratives that seek to dehumanize us. Through the work of WANN, other writers, and multiple Palestinian-led platforms, Palestinians strive to create a more just and equitable world, one where the rights and dignity of all people are respected and upheld. Palestinians are now writing stories that reflect a range of experiences, from the everyday struggles of life under occupation, starvation, and genocide to the moments of joy and hope that sustain us and make us feel alive. They are stories of loss and longing, of courage and resilience, of dreams deferred but never abandoned.
Palestinians now understand the power of narrative in challenging the dominant discourses that seek to dehumanize us. Storytelling helps to assert our right to be seen and heard. Palestinian storytellers work tirelessly to ensure that our voices are centered and our experiences acknowledged and respected. We don’t write to amuse our readers with fantasy epics or imaginary stories. We write in a language that is not ours to challenge perceptions imposed by our oppressors, ignite the empathy of our fellow human beings, and inspire others to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Our stories are a call to action, a plea for justice, and a reminder that our shared humanity transcends the divisions that seek to separate us. We write so that others cannot say they did not know.
This book is a tribute to the memory of all those we have lost—the twenty-one members of my own family, killed by the Israeli army while they were sleeping; the thousands of students who lost their lives; the journalists and hundreds of academics taken away from their families at the hands of the occupiers; and most importantly, to Refaat Alareer, our mentor and hero.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Palestinians in Gaza who have shared their stories with such courage and honesty. Your voices are powerful, and your words have the ability to change hearts and minds. Through your stories, you are contributing to a legacy of resilience and hope. This anthology serves as a testament to our enduring spirit, a reminder that even in the face of displacement and adversity, we have the power to write, to dream, and to imagine a better world. A world without chains and walls, where writers and storytellers can not only live safely, but most importantly, in dignity. A life that we deserve.
Excerpted from Displaced in Gaza: Stories from the Gaza Genocide, edited by Yousef M. Aljamal, Norma Hashim, Zoe Jannuzi, and Noor Nabulsi. From Haymarket Books. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted with permission.