In Gaza City, we are saying goodbye

To those who still care, this may be the last letter I write from Gaza City.

We are expecting Israel to officially issue its “evacuation orders” any time now. My beloved city, Gaza, stands on the brink of a full military occupation by the Israeli army. Their plan is to force us all to leave our homes and move into tents in the southern part of the Strip. We do not know what will happen to those who resist. We may be living our last days in Gaza City.

Since the beginning of the war, we have heard that Israel wants to occupy our city and take it as a settlement area for its people. At first, we didn’t believe it; we thought this kind of news was psychological warfare. After all, we have had “evacuation orders” before and people were able to return, even if it was to the ruins of their homes.

On October 13, shortly after the genocide started, the Israeli army told everyone in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to move south. The orders were accompanied by relentless bombardment. Hundreds would sometimes die in a day. Hundreds of thousands of people fled south for their lives.

We didn’t. My father refused to leave our home, so we all stayed. We lived in our home for months in unbearable pain and fear. We witnessed the destruction of our neighbourhood with our eyes.

Then the Israeli army cut off the north from the south. Aid could not reach the north. From January to April 2024, my family and I lived the most suffocating days of the war. We were starved; we spent our days searching for anything to ease our hunger. Sometimes, we were forced to eat animal feed.

In January this year, when a ceasefire took effect, people were allowed to go back to the north. It was an emotional moment that reflected just how much we, Palestinians, are attached to our land.

This time, the atmosphere feels different. It feels that the threat of permanent occupation, of permanent loss, is very real.

“In preparation for the transfer of civilians from the war zone to the south … a large number of tents and shelter equipment will be allowed to enter [Gaza]”, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on Facebook.