Messages from Gaza
Just a little while ago, on my way home, I almost died đ I was walking down the street, and a house behind me was bombedâjust 20 meters away. I feel shocked. My head hurts. I would have died.
These are a collection of WhatsApp messages I received between March 18th - 25th, 2025. They are excerpts from direct and personal conversations. I have changed the names of people to protect the confidentiality and safety of those who have shared them. These messages come from my community in Gazaâpeople I have come to know, help, and Love over the past 18 months. Together, these snippets paint a raw and urgent picture of what has unfolded in Gaza after Israel renewed and intensified its military on March 18th.
In the early hours of March 18, 2025, Israel breached the 2 months ceasefire, launching airstrikes that made the first 24 hours of attacks the deadliest for Palestinians in Gaza since the initial months of the 2023 war. What followedâand continues to unfoldâis devastation, with widespread destruction and an accelerated death toll. In just under 7 days, in the period between March 18â25, over 900 Palestinians (including 322 children) were killed in their tents in cold blood. In the weeks before these renewed attacks, on the 2nd of March, Israel had also blocked all aid coming into Gaza and subsequently, on the 10th of March, cut off the electricity supply, which meant that it was impossible to operate the only two partially working water desalination plants in Gaza, leaving inhabitant with minimal household and drinkable water.
Following the 18th of March attacks, Israel then proceeded to divide the Gaza Strip into two, closing down the Netzarim corridor and effectively cutting off the north of Gaza from the south. And then launched a Gaza-wide mass evacuation campaign, dropping leaflets on hungry, cold, trapped and fasting Palestinians, informing them of displacement orders. You would think that there would be some political movement to hold Israel to account at this point, but the silence of the world leaders was - and remains- deafening.
But my Palestinian friends did not remain silent. Almost immediately, on March 19, messages from Gaza began pouring inâvoices filled with determination, refusing to be silenced, desperate to be heard once more. This time, they faced the full force of an intensified IDF operation, one that could only be described as an attempt to complete the ethnic cleansing of those who remain in Gaza.
These are some of the messages that I received over the past weeks:
March 18th - Gaza ceasefire officially over;
As soon as the airstrikes started after midnight on the 17th of March, I received these messages from Mahmoud, an e-commerce student, 21 years old, displaced in Gaza City;
at 00:41: Good evening, how are you? I donât know why Iâm sending this message, but Iâm terrified.
08:46 - Thank God we are okay, but last night was really difficult. May God hold them accountable; they have closed all the crossings and separated the south from the north overnight.
Mohammed, a nurse, 23 years old, displaced in Sheik Radwan (Northern Gaza), replied as I asked about him on the morning of the 18th:
09:28 - Yes, we didnât sleep last night from the shelling. A night like many before during the war... Thank God. Yesterday, I went to visit and have an iftar with my sisters in the south. I saw them and reconnected with them.
9:30 - And I came back around sunset... At night, the bombing started, and they closed the checkpoint [between north and south]. I even brought toys for the little onesâŚ
10:03 You know another miracle happened to me, different from the previous ones? I left the south to return back at 5:30 PM before sunset the day before. At night, the checkpoint was closed, and the Egyptians who were organizing the checkpoint fled. Those in the south were trapped there, and those in the north stayed in the north. If I had been late even a little, I would have had to sleep there. In the morning, I wouldn't have known how to return. On my way, there was an Egyptian checkpoint searching vehicles."
10:21 - I was going to sleep over, but my mother told me she made khubeiza (mallow stew), a wild green that I love. So my mom lured me back with food, and I went to break my Ramadan fast with them. Between martyrdom or seeing my family, it was a matter of two hours. Technically, I had to stay, but I got permission and returned. This time, had I slept at my sisterâs, I wouldâve been stuck in the south and wouldnât have made it back to my mumâs house. If I had been late a bit, I wouldâve slept over and gotten stuck because the checkpoint had closed. That khubeiza meal saved me đ"
10:35 - 360 martyrs!! Just from last night till morning. Thatâs our fate. God is merciful. I am glad I saw my sisters yesterday, Who knows if weâll see them again or not? Itâs been a year and a half since Iâve seen them. They only came once.
Randa, 48 years old, school teacher and mother of four, displaced in Gaza city wrote:
13:31 - By God, when the bombing started again today, it felt like Judgment Day. Exactly at 2:04 AM, I heard the sound of warplanes descending to a certain level, and then the strikes and shelling began everywhere. Every strike shook the house and its foundations. By God, we havenât even had the chance to rejoice in returning home yet; weâre still cleaning the house from the amount of dust and black soot coming from the gunpowder.
13:33 - Psychologically, we are very exhausted. The crossings are closed, and prices have skyrocketed like the London Stock Exchange. Most basic supplies and food items are missingâchicken, fish, and meat have been unavailable since the beginning of Ramadan. People are surviving on lentils, pasta, and rice without anything else.
13:38- I am shocked by the number of martyrs and injuries because there is no television, and the internet is not always available. The losses are immense. Please pray for us. This Ramadan is unlike any before. There are no mosques. We only hear the call to prayer for Fajr and Maghrib for breaking the fast.
The next day, it was reported that Israel had orders to resume its genocidal war against the Palestinians, targeting the South, the North and Central Gaza and killing more than 400 people in less than 24 hours. This time, no âhumanitarian hubsâ nor âsafe zonesâ were announced.
March 19th
I received some messages from Nizar, 24, a textile shop owner displaced in Shujaâiyya:
15:04 - Just a little while ago, they bombed near usâa whole family was martyred. Weâre in the eastern gate of GazaâShujaâiyya. The army is always here, and they will lose many soldiers. The youth here are heroes.
I asked him if he would follow the evacuation orders and go to Gaza City ?
15:10 - We left before and were humiliated. We want to stayâwhatever happens, happens. What God has written will be. Enough displacement and suffering.
Later on the day, Mahmoud comments in utter disbelief at what was unfolding around him.
18:40 - Are you watching the news? What are the Hebrew news channels saying? There are a lot of threats and unbelievable pressure is on us now.
18:42 - Theyâre saying that Israel will launch a ground invasion. Yes, thatâs true, and they want to displace us again, but this time, we are not leaving at all. đ
18:43 - Theyâre saying that when people evacuate, they will select who gets to leave, and anyone with any suspicion on them will either be killed or imprisoned. Thank God for everything.
18:45 - No one can move. I donât understandâwhy isnât anyone taking action? Israel knows exactly what power it holds, which is why they are doing whatever they want with us.
I asked him about the Arabs and if he believes they will move now and he said:
18:51 - The point is that Israel knows that the Arab countries wonât do anything, so they act freely. God willing, but we have understood and memorised all of these patterns. Nothing will changeâwhatever Trump wants will happen.
On the evening of 19 March, a statement by the Israeli Minister of Defence addressed to âresidents of Gazaâ threatened âsignificantly worseâ strikes if hostages are not released and if Hamas is not expelled from Gaza, stressing that Gaza residents âwill pay the priceâ. The statement referred to the âoptionâ of ârelocating to other parts of the worldâ if Palestinians âwishâ to do so after the demands he outlined are met. âThe alternativeâ, the statement continued, âis utter destruction and devastation.â
Western media later framed this as the âvoluntary displacement of Palestinians,â supposedly offered by the IDFâwhen in truth, there was nothing voluntary about it. It was a false narrative, perpetuated by a subdued media landscape and shaped by Israelâs calculated manipulation of language, something it has long mastered.
March 21st - Palestinian Motherâs Day
On this day, Evacuation orders issued were violently enforced on the people of North Gaza, especially Jabaliya. Since the Nitzarem corridor's closing, no one could get in touch with loved ones stuck in Rafah and the southern areas of Gaza. People felt hungry, confused, tired and exhausted from having to move again, and with no âsafeâ zones announced, people had no idea where to move to, and where to flee.
The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories published a statement, repeating calls on member states to take decisive action to end hostilities in Gaza and ensure accountability for the grave breaches of international law committed over the past year and a half.
I got in touch with Randa, 48, mother of four in Gaza City, to check in with her and the family and wish her a happy Motherâs Day. I asked her about her surroundings and she replied:
10:50 - The displacement started yesterday, and everyone fled from the outskirts to the centre because itâs supposedly safer. But believe me, there is no safety anywhere in Gaza. At any moment, while weâre talking, a missile could hit, and you wouldnât know why or for what reason.
10:51- The coastal roadâAl-Rashid Roadâis open for those who want to flee from Gaza to the south, but they are not allowed to return.
10:53 - By God, people are suffering so much. Bombing, displacement, and now even the weather has turned from summer to winter. It rained all night, with storms and whirlwinds, as if winter had returned. People are running in the streets, and tents are flying away. People donât know where to go.
Even the schools are fullâthereâs no room for anyone to enter.
10:54- People are setting up tents in the streets and any empty space, even between graves, because we are alive but buried.
10:56- Where is the international community? Where are the free people of the world? Nothing but deafening silence. Oh God, let them act and do somethingâŚ.
I told her that itâs Motherâs day in Egypt, is it in Palestine too?
11:33- We have forgotten Motherâs Day, Fatherâs Day, and Eid. Gaza is too sad to remember any celebrations.
11:34- I just saw a video of a woman running after her sonâs funeral procession. The scene is heartbreaking. Do you want me to send it to you?
11:35- But then I read a statement from Israeli Defense Minister Katz saying that all Palestinians must be displaced, and Trumpâs plan must be carried out. As I told you before, we are all postponed funerals waiting for our turn to die and be shrouded.
11:41- Who can we complain to when the judge is the oppressor? The White House declared from day one that it supports what Netanyahu is doing in Gaza.
Everything is clear, and everyone agrees.
I asked her, What will you do if they try to displace you from Gaza? Will you leave? Where will you go?
11:43- By God, itâs heartbreaking and agonizing.
Oh Lord, first, give us strength.
11:45- The majority refuses to leave. Everyone says itâs better to die at home than to be displaced.
11:47- We already experienced displacement, and it was terrible.
Where would we go, with nothing at all?
And itâs not just about displacementâany young man they see, they might arrest, shoot or kill.
This is Motherâs Day, quite literally, and more than that.
March 24 - Anger
The situation was getting worse by the minute, Nizar got in touch to let off some steam and have a conversation:
15:32- Thank God, sister Marwa. The occupation is targeting journalists and cars today.
15:33- Honestly, the situation is hard. The world just watches and stays silent. Where are the Islamic and Arab countries? Whatâs happening to us is just the beginning. If they donât wake up, believe me, this will happen in all Arab countries.
15:36 - Yes, really. All the Arabs do is condemn and denounceâthis is all weâre good at. We are the ones defending the all Arabs. The occupation wants to get rid of us so it can focus on occupying the rest of the Arab countries.
15:37- But we are standing in their way. God is greater than them. Every oppressor has his day. God is my witnessâmy anger is more at the Arabs than the occupation.Whatâs happening to us is because of their betrayal.
15:39- Of course, America supports them with weapons, and the West gives them money. What have the Arabs done for us? What are they afraid of? They have weapons and oil and money.
15:40- The people are with us, but the governments prevent themâthey arrest and beat them. In Saudi Arabia, there wasnât a single protest. Why? In the Gulf, no protestsâwhy? If the Egyptian people rose and all went out in protest, believe me, the situation would be different.
15:41- Theyâre eating and drinking and living in luxury. Why would they care about the pain? One day the free people will awaken.
Can you imagineâwe're in Ramadan and have no food to eat. Theyâve cut off food, water, electricity, medicineâand on top of it, thereâs killing and destruction.
15:47- Where is the world? I donât understand. Where are the people? Where are human rights? Where is the so-called humanity? Where are hearts? Iâm truly shocked. Thereâs nothing leftâthis is genocide. They want to kill all 2.5 million of us by every means. If someone doesnât die from bombing, theyâll die from hunger. If theyâre sick, theyâll die without medicine. And so on, and so on, and so on... In the end, we die. Thatâs what they wantâto kill us all.
15:49- May God plant strength and resilience in us and grant us victory. We donât wait for anyone to help us. Only God will help us, God willing. God is generous, and may He hold accountable everyone who betrayed us.
on 25th of March, the Israeli army told residents in all northern border towns to evacuate, saying Palestinian rockets had been fired at Israel from the area. The affected towns include Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Shejaia in Gaza City. Orders were also issued for areas in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
March 25 - Forced Displacement
It was already proving a very difficult and frustrating day at work; we had been trying to understand the numbers of displaced people since the evacuation orders and grappling with news of the increased movement of people from the North following the forced evacuation orders. I reconnected after work with a few in Gaza, and as soon as I asked how things were, Randa replied:
18:28 - Thank God we are okay, but the situation is not okay at all! Today, the people of Jabalia have been displaced to Gaza City. They set up their tents in the streetsâitâs a real humanitarian catastrophe.
18:30- It feels like Judgment Day is about to happen. Everyone is running, cars are packed with people and their belongings. Oh God, protect us and grant us Your mercy. May we never be forced to flee again, even within Gaza!
Mohammed sent me a message saying he is OK but that his heart was utterly broken into a million pieces:
20:14 - They evacuated people from Jabalia today... If you had seen the sight of people carrying their belongings and children, those with disabled kids carrying them, the elderly being carried while people ran... Scenes that rip your heart apart. The terror is beyond description. The torment of displacement.
I asked if he was also thinking of leaving, given how dangerous it is around him?
20:20 - Of course not. Where would we go? We have no place but here. We left before and slept in the streets in the freezing cold.
And those who donât leave, what will happen to them? Wouldnât it be better for you and your mother to go somewhere else? I said
20:23 - Most likely, young men aged 18 and above will be imprisoned for years, with no known release. If so, may God grant him mercy. The other possibility is gathering the youth, digging a pit, and executing them all by fire, then covering them with sand.
Later that evening, when the airstrikes intensified, Randa got back in touch for a chat. We have a pattern - or maybe because there is a silent understanding of motherly duties, so we connect in the evening after the daily chores are done.
21:49- By God, the waiting is truly heartbreaking. Oh God, in these blessed days, bring peace and end this war. The airstrikes donât stop â During suhoor, during iftar, and all day long.
Every time we hear an F-16 plane and the sound of a missile, my heart stops.
Iâm afraid one day Iâll die from a heart attack. Things are worse than you can imagine, read about, or see on social media.
21:50 - Who can stand up to America and Israel? As I told you before, itâs America waging war on us, killing us. If America had left us to Israel alone, we would have won long ago.
I asked what she thought of the silence of the world, and said something about it being strange.
21:51 - The strange silenceâwhy? because all the leaders are quiet, as if they signed off on our deaths. As if theyâre saying, "Let Gazaâs people die and rid the world of them."
21:52- Leaders arenât asleepâ Theyâre just afraid for their thrones, their bellies, and their money.
In the endâ
Genocide.
Forced displacement.
The liquidation of our cause.
Unless God wills otherwise.
They plot, and God also plots. And God is the best of planners.
We accept Godâs decree!
In less than 7 days, and between the 18th - and 25th of March, 140,000 Palestinians were displaced. The number of IDPs since then has increased almost three-fold, reaching 400,000, according to the UN.
In the days that followed, Israeli and American politicians occasionally made incendiary remarks about Gaza, the Palestinian cause, or repeated the familiar refrain about Hamas. Meanwhile, the attacks intensified, targeting journalists, aid workers, UN staff, civil defence teams, and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Deaths climbed past 1,400, with more than 2,500 injured.
To this day, full-scale IDF assaults persist under the pretext of targeting Hamas operatives and securing a vague hostage exchange. The week of March 18â25 stands as the bloodiest in the war on Gaza.
Beyond the normalisation of mass killing and the emptiness of failed negotiations, there remain people whose lives have been shattered beyond comprehension. Families ended, and generations traumatisedânot for justice or security, but for political and financial greed masked as justification.
Someone recently asked: If Israel truly wants the âtruthâ to emerge, why is it killing the very people who carry itâjournalists? Why target UN staff and humanitarian workers? Why slaughter Palestinian Red Crescent medics, the first to reach the wounded?
We live in a world that silently watches the ethnic cleansing of Gaza disguised as âpolitics.â A world where it takes over 18 monthsâand countingâto argue that killing children is wrong. Where speaking out for Palestine is instantly branded antisemitic, a label that can get you cancelled, fired, or even detainedâespecially if you donât have the privilege of white skin.
Silence and political inaction are the hallmarks of our timesâexcept for the Palestinians. They are not silent. Far from it. They are showing the world a resilience and strength that defy comprehension. And as Hossam Shabat, a prominent Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist, said in his last message to the world before he was targeted and killed in his car by the IDF on the 24th of March:
âIf youâre reading this, it means I have been killedâmost likely targetedâby the Israeli occupation forces. When this all began, I was only 21 years oldâa college student with dreams like anyone else. For past 18 months, I have dedicated every moment of my life to my people. I documented the horrors in northern Gaza minute by minute, determined to show the world the truth they tried to bury. I slept on pavements, in schools, in tentsâanywhere I could. Each day was a battle for survival. I endured hunger for months, yet I never left my peopleâs side.
By God, I fulfilled my duty as a journalist. I risked everything to report the truth, and now, I am finally at restâsomething I havenât known in the past 18 months. I did all this because I believe in the Palestinian cause. I believe this land is ours, and it has been the highest honour of my life to die defending it and serving its people.
I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our storiesâuntil Palestine is free.â
Hossam Shabat, from northern Gaza.