8th November 2023 - Day 33 of war by Aya Zaqout:
Today I had the most difficult, frightening, and sad experience of my life. My family and I moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli occupation designated as a safe area, after the north part, especially Gaza City, became too dangerous for us to stay in.
We moved from west to south on foot, a painful experience, both physically and psychologically. The obstacles we faced along the road cannot be described in words. I cannot imagine that I lived an experience like this, at my young age, when I am supposed to be on my way toward achieving my professional ambitions.
I was carrying three bags containing winter clothes and personal items because winter is on the doorstep. I could not transport all of my belongings, of course, and I might lose even what I carried. The Israeli Zionist soldiers might force us to leave our bags on the roads and continue walking without them, as they had done to many people who were displaced before us.
Thanks be to God, we arrived at a house in the southern Gaza Strip, after unspeakable suffering on our long walk. I do not want to remember it all, but you must know that there is no safe place in this country. Even in the south, the Israeli forces is bombing and shooting, despite telling us it would be safe here.
I feel very sad for my country and for its children. I miss the buildings we lived and worked in. I feel sad for our dreams and our lives, gone.
Please remember that we love life, we love our homes, and we want to live this life with its beauty, through all its difficulties and obstacles, and we have dreams that we want to realize, and we have friends and loved ones everywhere we want to see again.
I haven't taken many pictures through this painful experience of displacement because I don't want to keep the memories fresh. But these photos are from a 5-minute break we took, while walking along a sidewalk.
