By Alice Cuddy BBC News, Jerusalem


The call to Mahmoud Shaheen came at dawn.

It was Thursday 19 October at about 06:30, and Israel had been bombing Gaza for 12 days straight.

He’d been in his third-floor, three-bedroom flat in al-Zahra, a middle-class area in the north of the Gaza Strip. Until now, it had been largely untouched by air strikes.

He’d heard a rising clamour outside. People were screaming. “You need to escape,” somebody in the street shouted, “because they will bomb the towers”.

  • liv@lemmy.nz
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    1 year ago

    This story made me cry. I am disabled and not always mobile. There are loved ones in my family who are elderly, cannot walk far, and depend on medication.

    I cannot even imagine what it must be like to try to evacuate at short notice, with nowhere to go.

    • yumpsuit@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It is brutal, just incredibly sad. Israel’s military has a long history of weaponizing disability, as you may know, and it’s been illuminating to examine that further.

      When you’re ready, the excellent disability-focused podcast Death Panel offered some insights I had never encountered elsewhere. Please listen to the following episodes on SoundCloud or wherever you would like. I hope they can offer some solace and empowerment.

      Public Health and Palestine with Danya Qato

      Body Politics with Jasbir Puar

    • stella@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I cannot even imagine what it must be like to try to evacuate at short notice, with nowhere to go.

      It’s a radicalizing experience, to say the least.

        • jarfil@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Well… yes.

          North = you’ll get bombed.
          South = you’ll get bombed maybe.
          East = you’ll get shot.
          West = you’ll get shot and drown.

          It’s a shitty situation, but I’d pick South. 🤷

          • ???@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I’m not sure your argument is fair. “Maybe” is anywhere. Two nights ago half the casualties came from the South.

            I understand why many people chose to stay home and die together with their families rather than be dragged around forever and then die anyway.

            • jarfil@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              From what it looks like, North, East and West, are more of a “for sure” than a “maybe”.

              I also understand why people choose to die at home, it’s somewhat harder to understand why anyone with a chance to live would willingly stay in the area, since all of Gaza has been reeking of “death camp” for well over a decade.

      • TheBlue22@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Ah yes, please leave your home, with everything in it included, all your memories, possessions, everything and leave within 2 hours “south”. Just generally “south”. Oh and you can’t come back btw, your house wont exist.