Displaced in Gaza: Stories from the Gaza Genocide

by Yousef M. Aljamal (Editor), Norma Hashim, Noor Nabulsi

A powerful collection of testimonies from Palestinians facing genocide and displacement in Gaza with hope and resistance.

Displaced in Gaza aims to raise global awareness of how violent displacement has impacted the lives of Palestinians—students, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, educators, and those who already survived the Nakba of 1948. In Gaza, 2.3 million Palestinians have been subjected to starvation, mass destruction, and targeted killing. Yet they endure.

This book is a commitment to the longstanding Palestinian tradition of storytelling, documenting both the horror of the genocide and the resilience of the Palestinian people. The stories in this collection are not merely accounts of suffering, they are assertions of humanity, resistance, hope, and the unbreakable bond that ties Palestinians to their homeland.

Displaced in Gaza is a collaboration between the American Friends Service Committee and the Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies at Universiti Malaya.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Essays, Social Justice, Anthologies

168 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2025

Reviews

[Marcus (Lit_Laugh_Luv)]

Not rating this because it's a collection of interviews and I'm not quite sure how you appropriately rate that, but regardless, this was an incredibly impactful read. We get insight into 27 lived accounts of the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the daily horrors families are forced to endure. The interviews were conducted approximately eight months into the war, and it's harrowing to know that the conditions have worsened. These interviews just capture the cusp of things.

Despite the inhumane conditions the interviewees outline, their words are underpinned by so much courage, resilience, and hope for a free Palestine. Palestinians are faced with a series of impossible choices to simply survive and be heard, and it's important that those in a position to listen to their plight take every opportunity to do so.

Most of my reading on Palestine has been through the lens of political commentary, so listening to first-hand testimonials felt important to me. Though Israel's occupation of Gaza is nothing new, the interviewees outline their daily routines and lives before October 2023, which helps convey the magnitude of loss and destruction. Several of the testimonials raise awareness of issues that have seldom been discussed. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic, the experiences of individuals living with disabilities or chronic illness in Gaza, and the reliance on the community to survive.

Despite how heartbreaking and difficult this was to read, I'd recommend this to everyone. The hopes, dreams, and stories of Palestinians must be heard.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can I read this and not be filled with rage, despair, and impotence?

People ask how “they” let the holocaust happen. Welcome to being they. This is how.

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Haitham left before noon. I went out searching for him and found him lying on the ground being eaten by cats. I couldn’t bury him on the first day of his martyrdom due to Israeli shelling.” “Wherever we go, we are pursued by shelling.” “The day I return to my house and the day I visit my husband’s grave will be the best days of my life.” “We want to return to our homes and live on the ruins of our destroyed houses.” “We line up in long queues to enter bathrooms with no water.” “We couldn’t find enough space in the cemetery to bury my mother, so we dug up my grandmother’s grave and buried my mother in the same grave.” “Under normal circumstances, my family’s daily water requirement is about 20 liters per person. Today, I share 20 liters of water among 23 family members.” “Quadcopter drones roamed inside the school and fired at anyone moving.” [Given that quadcopters are triggered by motion and sound, imagine trying to keep your baby quiet said one father, who saw a quadcopter kill a dog on the street outside his apartment building.] “Since the martyrdom of my family…” “We suffer from many harmful insects and other animals in and around the tents, including scorpions, snakes, flies, and mosquitos.”

This great Haymarket-published book is filled with the testimonies of many Palestinians clearly showing how Zionist justice is the opposite of the Golden Rule and both Jewish justice and its sacred values of Tikkun Olam. I’m super glad I read it because after reviewing 85 Israel/Palestine books on Goodreads since October 7th, this is the first to tell the stories at a micro level of innocent civilians living under the world’s most brutal illegal occupation – civilians that many Israelis sociopathically believe to be animals. I’m surprised the Zionists at Disney didn’t make a film out of this book since Disney loves to make movies about animals who can talk and who have feelings. Never mind that most humans I know prefer the company of animals to the company of humans.

[❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What crime did these children commit for the occupation to kill them? Is their only fault being Palestinian?
Why were they deprived of their lives, leaving us to mourn their loss? Is their only fault being Palestinian?
Why must we endure such injustice? Is our only fault being Palestinian?

reading the stories of Palestinian survivors in this book is truly heartbreaking. imagine if our own grandmother or grandfather, who had already lived through the 1948 Nakba, now had to endure another wave of oppression... the cruelty of these circumstances feels deeply inhumane. what makes it even more painful is knowing that we do not even know whether the authors of these testimonies are still alive or have already passed away... this uncertainty shatters the heart, as those who shared their suffering may no longer be with us, even though their stories remain.

no one deserves to be forced out of their own homeland. Palestine is their birthplace, their home, and the center of their culture and heritage. it is a land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinian people only.

However, our love for our homeland Palestine, our insistence on our land, and our refusal to emigrate from it have pushed us to stand firm. If the resistance defends us with some simple weapons, we must also resist the occupation by standing firm on our land and refusing to emigrate, no matter what happens. We live in catastrophic conditions, but we are the owners of this land; we are its people, and we will never leave it.

viva Palestine. 🇵🇸

[Hasliza Rajab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compelling anthology that captures the harrowing experiences of Palestinians during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. It was written by a Palestinian refugee from Al-Nuseirat camp in Gaza and a scholar in Middle Eastern Studies, Yousef M. Aljamal. It consists of 27 different stories from different person, yet they faced the same devastation in their lives.

Since Oct 7 ( in fact, the years before), millions have been forced to flee their homes, multiple times. Families are living in overcrowded shelters, tents, or makeshift spaces without basic protection. Entire neighborhoods have been flattened by airstrikes. For many, there is simply no home to return to.

The book delves deep into the lives of individuals who have faced unimaginable hardships. For example Saeed Alhalabi, a young boy whose his childhood was stolen. He had to work to support his family and his 12 siblings. Also, it recounts the story of Rehab Musa Aljamal, a 54-year-old woman from the village of Aqir, who lost ten family members and her home in an Israeli airstrike.

These stories are among uncountable incidents and it represents the collective trauma of a population enduring continuous displacement and violence. Gaza is facing what the UN has repeatedly called a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Essential infrastructurs such as water systems, electricity, hospitals, and schools has been destroyed or rendered inoperable. The siege has made it nearly impossible to bring in enough food, clean water, fuel, or medical supplies. This was what happened to Ali Al Owisi. He lost his mother who has cancer where he couldn't find a place for her in the hospital due to Gaza's health system has all but collapsed. Hospitals are overwhelmed, short on supplies, and often directly targeted in bombings.

"We love our homeland, and we will never leave it".
"I dream of being able to secure a dignified future for my children".
"I hope to go back to my hobbies, like reading books".

These are their hopes, their dreams, like many of us.
Displaced in Gaza is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the human cost of the Gaza conflict. It is a powerful reminder of the enduring spirit of those who, despite facing relentless adversity, continue to hope for a future of peace and dignity.

[K. Thompson]

Following others' lead by not rating this because genuinely I have no words. Almost every single testimony in this ends with the speaker wishing for an immediate end to Israeli aggression and occupation as well as accountability for the criminals responsible. It has been almost two and a half years of ongoing genocide and the only thing that seems to have changed aside from the tens of thousands (likely hundreds of thousands) of human lives destroyed by Israel and its Starship Troopers population is that across the world Western governments are weaponizing the religion of the fascists in question to silence our outrage, and more importantly to keep Palestinian voices from reaching us--most prominently in Australia but make no mistake, they're coming for the rest of us. I keep saying I have no words even though I have lots of words but I cannot even begin to express how sick and angry and horrified all of this makes me. Any and all displays of human cruelty have become routine to me.

[Sofia Peres · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s hard to put into words how it feels to read the real life traumas and horrors of the Palestinian people. Especially because what I feel reading this is nothing in comparison to the experiences that these individuals have been enduring for over at least half a century, if not more. I wish for the liberation of Palestine and its people, for their freedoms and happiness and amazing opportunities. And for all people responsible to be held accountable for their atrocities and to help the Palestinians rebuild their land and their economy

[Julia Hill]

This collection of stories of lived experiences was compiled about eight months into the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Reading firsthand accounts of severe devastation and loss was difficult--especially knowing things have worsened--yet the "sumud" (steadfastness) of the Palestinian people is evident in every page. Bearing witness to what the people of Gaza have suffered is our duty until Palestine is free. As Paul Catafago's final poem in the collection tells us: "stand with us, grieve with us. Then struggle for justice with us."

[e]

“All I wish and dream for is for the war to stop, for the Israeli forces to be held accountable for their crimes, for the world to be just to us and restore our occupied land, and for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip to be expedited so that we can live the remainder of our lives in dignified homes.”
- Hajj Abu Sultan, 58

[Sofia]

Following another Goodreads user's lead by not leaving a review because it feels difficult to "rate" testimonies, especially ones as harrowing and difficult as these. These 27 testimonies are heavy, but important. There is so much pain, loss, strength, and steadfastness carried in the words of this short book.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very difficult read, but a necessary one. The thought that these crimes will go unpunished is almost impossible to bear. The least we can do after allowing and even enabling this genocide is to ensure that those who both supported it and committed it are held to account.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut punch after gut punch - and then as a final blow, you remember millions of Palestinians are internally displaced, many millions more displaced around the world, and each one would have a story as horrifying as the ones shared in this collection. Essential reading.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

27 tragic accounts of life as a Palestinian in Gaza. Impactful read.

[Lindsey]

“As an elderly man, the occupation forces did not spare me for my old age, nor did they spare our children, women, elders, or youth. The bombing we are subjected to in the Gaza Strip is unprecedented. If a major country were subjected to this bombing, it would have ended in the first week. However, our love for our homeland Palestine, our insistence on our land, and our refusal to emigrate from it has pushed us to stand firm. If the resistance defends us with some simple weapons, we must also resist the occupation by standing firm on our land and refusing to emigrate, no matter what happens. We live in catastrophic conditions, but we are the owners of this land; we are its people, and we will never leave it.” Akram Abdul Nabi Al-Ajrami