Testimony From Northern Gaza

Myself and a collective of others have worked to gather some stories from Northern Gaza. The stories detail horrific abuses, including the targeting of women and children.

The following is a transcript from a contact directly connected to Palestinians in Northern Gaza. They have gathered testimony from various Palestinians in the area. All sources have been verified.

We have kept them anonymous for their own safety.

Names have been changed. The only edits are grammatical. Otherwise, nothing has been changed or removed.

Warning: The descriptions are graphic.

“These stories are all from Beit Lahia and Jabalia. A few weeks into a complete siege, folks have been eager to leave to safety. They’re run out of food and other essential supplies. They are surrounded by shelling, gunfire, and airstrikes.

They sit huddled in the middle of their homes away from the shattered windows. Those who dare peak out or try to evacuate are shot at by snipers or quadcopters, which also make their way into these homes.

Starting last week, IDF quadcopters have been going from one neighborhood to another surrounding homes, schools and other shelters instructing those inside to evacuate while continuing to target the area with gunfire/shelling.

Folks have no choice but to leave.

One testimony: Women and children were separated from the men. Laila and her daughters were in one of the school shelters. They were made to stand in a shallow pit and then were shot at and covered with sand. One of her daughters was killed, the other injured.

A little while later, more shots were fired and survivors were instructed to come out. They were prohibited from looking back, helping or tending to the wounded. Laila had to leave her daughters behind. She could not even look back. Half her face was paralyzed with a stroke.

Ahmad, a 65-year old relative was sheltering in his home with his wife, daughter, and his granddaughter. He was separated from them when they were ordered to evacuate. The men in the group were all stripped and security checked. Some were beaten, detained, or released. Ahmad was released hours later and instructed to walk along a specified pathway.

No one was allowed to diverge from the path, look up or look back, shots were fired at their feet by quadcopters. No one was allowed to stop to rest… or to help those who fall. Quadcopters ordered them which direction to go.

Ahmad is diabetic but he persisted and walked all the way from Beit Lahia to the middle of Gaza city when he recognized his relative’s house. He was injured, with bloodied feet and soiled clothes. His relatives provided first aid because it was dark and unsafe.

They managed to get him to the hospital (Al-Maamadani) the next day. At this point, he did not know anything about his wife, child or grandchild. It was days later when he found out where they were. They were also separated and instructed to take a different pathways out of the area when released by the IDF.

Ahmad’s daughter and granddaughter were also separated. Women were separated from their children and placed in ditches. Tanks encircled both groups covering them with sand and dust. Soldiers then started hurling children from one pit to another. Whomever caught a child was instructed to take them and start walking along a designated pathways.

They could not wait for their children. So mothers were holding other women’s children not knowing the fate of their own until they managed to reunite if at all. Ahmad’s daughter and granddaughter were one of the lucky ones.

These are a few individual testimonies from Northern Gaza, where the siege has made it very difficult to hear the stories of those affected.

All we can rely on now is the testimony of survivors to tell their stories.

The person we are in touch with is someone we trust and have verified is connected to Gazans in the north. We hope you will listen to their testimonies.