[Letters from Gaza] My hometown has been decreased to rubble. Nonetheless, I want to return.

 
My title is Rania Al-Sultan, and I’m 50 years outdated. I used to be born in Beit Lahia, within the northern a part of the Gaza Strip, in 1975.

My ancestors have lived and died in Palestine since time immemorial. I spent my childhood in a village of farmers and fishermen, near the ocean. My father was a citrus service provider, however the occupation ripped up the citrus timber alongside the border areas. After that, he grew greens on his land with my mom whereas elevating their 11 kids.

Rania Al-Sultan. (courtesy of Al-Sultan)

Earlier than I used to be born, my household fled Gaza within the Six Days Conflict in 1967. The Israelis have been killing all of the Palestinians they noticed. A few of my family have been martyred within the struggle. The occupying troops pressured my father’s uncle to dig his personal grave and step inside, then they shot him inside the outlet. My father was in Al-Shugairi’s military however miraculously escaped occupying troops after the defeat of 1967.

I bear in mind visiting the “land of 1948” after I was 11 years outdated. I’m speaking about main Palestinian cities equivalent to Haifa, Nazareth, and West Jerusalem, from which many of the unique Palestinian inhabitants have been forcibly displaced throughout what is named the Nakba. [Meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, the Nakba refers to the incident in which 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes during the establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948. — eds.] They have been stunning areas, however my recollections are tainted by the worry I felt when passing via checkpoints manned by Israel’s occupying troops.

The primary intifada occurred in 1987, after I was 12 years outdated. The occupying troops used to shoot tear gasoline and rubber bullets at us whereas we have been finding out in faculties, and we might throw stones again at them. My brother was imprisoned by the army occupation. The curfew was at eight within the night. We have been afraid to go away the home as a result of those that did have been crushed and typically even killed. I bear in mind one time the occupying forces searched my household’s home. It was a scary day; I even cried.

Rania Al-Sultan and her son (left) and husband (proper). (courtesy of Al-Sultan)

By the second intifada in 2000, I used to be married and had kids, so my worry was redoubled. We have been trapped in our residence due to the bombing, and my kids have been in such a state of worry that they now not ate or slept and even went to the toilet.

In my childhood, my dream was to grow to be a journalist, journey the world, and work for a global information channel. However within the twelfth grade, I left faculty and bought married. I’ve 4 daughters and a son. My eldest daughters — who at the moment are 31 and 29 years outdated — have completed college, gotten married, and had kids of their very own.

My son Omar, who’s 27 years outdated, majored in agricultural and environmental engineering and was writing his grasp’s thesis on the Islamic College of Gaza. My third daughter, who’s 20 years outdated, was finding out structure at college, and my youngest daughter, who’s 17 years outdated, was in highschool.

Whereas elevating my kids, I by no means stopped excited about ending my research. So on the age of 30, I went again to highschool 14 years after dropping out. I studied at Al-Quds Open College’s department in Beit Lahia. I needed to work further onerous since I couldn’t go to class often. After I completed my bachelor’s diploma in primary training, I used to be moved to tears.

Rania Al-Sultan and her household. (courtesy of Al-Sultan)

Because the age of 38, I’ve been working with the Union of Palestinian Ladies’s Committees (UPWC) on enhancing the psychological state of ladies and youngsters within the northern a part of the Gaza Strip. I attempt to be a feminist activist who serves girls primarily and helps them obtain their rights.

However my life and my kids’s desires have been crushed by the struggle that broke out in Gaza in 2023. Our stunning two-story home with guava timber within the entrance yard was demolished. My kids needed to cease their research as a result of their faculty was destroyed. The Hayy al-Salateen (the Sultan’s neighborhood), which was residence to 860 households of our family, was fully destroyed within the bombing.

Essentially the most troublesome and painful moments have been when my household and family have been killed in bombings. At round 12:30 am on Could 16, 2052, my cousin Ihsan, 49, his spouse Noha, 45, their sons Mjd, 27, and Mohammed, 22, their daughter Reem, 16, and their son Bahaa, 15, have been all killed when the house of my uncle, 91, was bombed. The subsequent day, their cousin Ahmand Riyad, 35, and Ahmad Nasser, 22, went to gather their our bodies, solely to be killed in yet one more air strike. 

Even my sister’s residence was bombed. I wished to go rescue her, however I couldn’t as a result of an Israeli drone was flying very low and firing closely in all instructions, focusing on something that moved. We tried calling an ambulance, however emergency companies refused to enter the neighborhood resulting from worry of their crew’s security. Thankfully, she was not severely harm, however her son-in-law was critically injured and took fairly some time to get better. 

5 days after the struggle started on Oct. 7, 2023, my household left Beit Lahia. We first went to Gaza Metropolis within the north earlier than heading to a refugee camp arrange at a college in Nuseirat in central Gaza. In January 2024, we went to Deir al-Balah, the place we stayed for a 12 months. Throughout the 60-day truce, we returned to Beit Lahia. Three months later, in Could 2025, we fled to Gaza Metropolis. The Israeli occupation forces started dropping leaflets over the world, warning residents to evacuate to the south or face dying. We evacuated from Gaza Metropolis to Deir al-Balah on Sept. 16. 

Israeli air strikes have decreased Rania Al-Sultan’s neighborhood to rubble. (courtesy of Al-Sultan)

Over the previous two years, I’ve hung out at six refugee camps, none of which have been comfy or a straightforward life. Even discovering transportation when relocating to Deir al-Balah this time was very troublesome. Seven of us have been capable of journey in a automotive that we rented for $400. We introduced with us solely the necessities — bedding and clothes.

After three days of ready, my eldest daughter, Shorouq, 31, and her household have been capable of rent a tuk-tuk for $500. My second daughter, Hiba, who’s 29, had no technique of transportation to journey south and needed to stroll roughly 12 kilometers from Gaza Metropolis to the Nuseirat camp together with her husband and their two kids, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old.

As folks flocked to Deir al-Balah, lease skyrocketed. The worth of a tent can attain $1,000, and other people need to lease land to arrange their tents. Most individuals can’t afford this. Israel has blocked tents from coming into Gaza, and the variety of tents that reduction organizations present to displaced households could be very restricted. 

I’m presently paying $500 to lease one room in a home. The room doesn’t have a door, there isn’t a window within the rest room, and no working water. A second household I don’t know lives in the identical home. The 5 of us residing in our room need to sleep and not using a mattress. Nonetheless, I think about myself fortunate to have discovered this room. It breaks my coronary heart to see my daughters envy their cousins to have died and suppose that they’d be higher off dying too. 

Water, particularly, is troublesome to return by right here. A lot of the wells have been destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces. Some support organizations present free water, but it surely’s far too little to satisfy the wants of all these displaced folks. Because of this, many households are pressured to purchase water, usually at excessive costs. Even with an revenue from my work, it’s troublesome to afford. 

The ceasefire went into impact final month, however I haven’t been capable of go away Dier al-Balah. I wish to return to my residence in Beit Lahia, however I can’t, because the roads have been closed resulting from rubble. The whole space has grow to be uninhabitable; nothing is left, neither stones nor timber. When the roads are cleared, I hope to return to my neighborhood and arrange a tent on the rubble of what was as soon as my residence.  

The home in Gaza that Rania Al-Sultan and her household referred to as residence. (courtesy of Al-Sultan)

Not one among my family or the numerous kids who have been martyred has any connection to Hamas. They have been all harmless folks like us who have been displaced and fleeing. 

Palestinians are human beings such as you. They’re individuals who love life and have the precise to dwell in safety, stability and dignity with out worry, starvation or displacement. We’re human beings of flesh and blood like the remainder of the peoples of the world. We worry dying. We worry for our kids; we take care of them and want them a good life

I urge the Korean authorities to take critical motion to oppose the Israeli occupation, maintain it accountable, and compel it to cease this ongoing bloodbath. 

Folks of Korea, I attraction to you to face in solidarity with the Palestinian folks, who’re being killed and displaced because the world watches. Your solidarity offers hope to these of us enduring these extraordinarily troublesome situations. 

By Kim Ji-hoon, workers reporter; Illustration by Kim Hong-mo

Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]