Gaza - by Yanis Hamad

Sharing something beautiful my dear friend Yanis wrote about Gaza. His words affected me deeply and I asked if I could share them with you also, along with these beautiful photos of Yanis and Mahdi from years ago, from before all of this, when they still had their home in beloved Beit Hanoun.

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Gaza

by Yanis Hamad

Gaza is not merely a city on the map, nor a passing headline in the evening news. Gaza is the story of a land that breathes despite the siege, a heart that continues to beat despite the pain. Along its shores stretching over the Mediterranean, people stand each evening gazing at the horizon, as if searching for a less cruel tomorrow, or for ships carrying fragments of hope.

In Gaza, the scent of salt mingles with the smell of old houses, and the voices of market vendors intertwine with children’s laughter in the narrow alleys. Despite the destruction left by repeated wars, life insists on sprouting from beneath the rubble. Every broken stone holds a story, and every open window bears witness to long endurance.

Gaza has passed through difficult historical stages—from occupation to siege to wars that have left their mark on every home. Yet the will of its people has not been broken. You see a mother preparing bread for her children under harsh conditions, a father searching for work in a strained economy, and a young man dreaming of traveling abroad only to return one day and rebuild his city. These small details form the true image of Gaza: a city that resists through living.

  The nights of Gaza are not always quiet; sometimes the silence is shattered by the sound of aircraft or the roar of explosions. But even in the harshest moments, you find those who raise their hands in prayer, those who rush to aid the wounded, and those who comfort the grieving. Solidarity there is not a slogan—it is a way of life.

  Gaza is also culture, art, and literature. From it emerged poets, novelists, and artists who carried its voice to the world, and many have sung of it. In the poems of Mahmoud Darwish, the echo of homeland resounds, and in the works of painters and creative youth, hope takes shape despite the pain.

  Gaza is not a number in news bulletins, nor merely a headline of war. Gaza is faces and names, schools and universities, fishermen returning at dawn with weary nets, and students studying by candlelight. It is a city that has learned how to turn pain into meaning, and loss into resilience. In the end, Gaza remains a lesson in holding onto life. No matter how deep the darkness grows, there is always a window that opens, a child who laughs, a mother who waits, and a land that never forgets its people.

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