GAZA, (PIC)
Citizen Bilal Al-Ostaz, unleashes his imagination, sketching a scene of his return to the city of Gaza after long months of forced displacement, knowing that his home in the Sheikh Radwan area has become a mere memory.
Recently, voices have risen about the possibility of reaching an agreement that would extinguish the flames of extermination, despite fears and concerns about Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu sabotaging it.
Inevitable return
Al-Ostaz tells the PIC correspondent that he dreams of this long-awaited day, yet he firmly believes that returning home, even if it is in ruins, is inevitable. He asserts that he will return to his neighborhood and will set up his tent on the rubble of his destroyed home, raising a victory sign, despite the horrors committed by Israel in Gaza.
On October 13, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces issued an evacuation order for the city of Gaza and northern Gaza, urging residents to flee to southern Gaza. They continued to issue these orders with brutal bombardment, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee while hundreds of thousands also refused and insisted on staying steadfast.
I will embrace its soil
As for Abeer Murad, who was displaced from the Al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza, where the occupation army destroyed her apartment, she says: “I love the city of Gaza, I dream of the day of return and reunion; I will embrace its soil.”
She weeps as she speaks to our correspondent, “How can I not embrace its soil, which holds the remains of our loved ones, my brothers, and my martyr uncles?” She points out that Gaza is beautiful, radiant, and dear, despite everything that has happened. “The day we return will be a celebration.” She adds, “and we will also return to all our occupied land, regardless of the occupier.”
She continues, “The return to the destroyed home is near; I will set up my tent on the rubble, and I will not relent. We will make it more beautiful, and we will rebuild it.” Murad’s heart breaks with longing for her birthplace, saying, “We left unwillingly under the bombardment, but we will return, and we will rebuild it; this is the promise of the sincere.”
Hundreds of thousands who fled to the south were not spared from Israeli targeting, as the occupation army continued to strike every place in the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 136,000 martyrs and wounded in 15 months.
More precious than gold
Young Saari Muqdad, who left his modest home in the Shati Camp, tells our correspondent that he misses the soil of Gaza; its soil is more precious than gold, mixed with the blood of pure martyrs.
He continues that the occupation has destroyed it and made it an unlivable city, yet it does not realize that it has only increased our love for it. “How can we hate it when we die for it and for Palestine, all of Palestine? They left it alone to fight against the crimes of the invaders, but we, its people, love its air, its soil; we love it in all its forms. We will return to it,” adds citizen Muqdad.
Citizen Mohammed Abu Sha’ira says that as soon as the Netzarim axis is removed, he will visit all the neighborhoods of northern Gaza and the city of Gaza. He will cry and shed tears, not out of fear or anger but out of longing and love for the city closest to his heart.
He continues, “I will drink tea on the beach of the city as I used to do every day; I will love it every second, and I will remain the son of Gaza who loves nothing else except it.”
