I heard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say, after the attacks on October 7th, 2023, “Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders children and mothers in their homes, in their beds, an enemy that abducts the elderly, children and young women, that slaughters and massacres our citizens, including children, who simply went out to enjoy the holiday.”
On October 9th of 2023, I heard Defense Minister Yoav Gallant say, “[We] are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.”
I heard the U.S. President Joe Biden, on October 10th of 2023, say, “I just got off the phone — the third call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I told him if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming.”
I heard Joe Biden was one of 77 senators who, in 2002, authorized George Bush to use military force in Iraq — almost 20 years later, he claimed he had been against the war from the outset.
I heard Senator Tom Cotton say, “As far as I’m concerned, Israel can bounce the rubble in Gaza.”
I heard that by the end of October 8th, more than 400 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza.
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On October 13th, 2023, I heard Ezra Yachin, Israel’s oldest reservist, encourage the troops by saying, “Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live….Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them. If you have an Arab neighbor, don’t wait, go to his home and shoot him.”
I heard that he was implicated in the 1948 Deir Yassine Massacre, in which Israeli forces murdered at least 107 civilians despite the village having agreed to a non-aggression pact.
I heard that almost 70% of Gaza’s population are refugees from the Nakba of 1948, during which almost 800,000 people were violently expelled by Israeli troops.
On October 18th, 2023, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “We are on the ground doing the hard work of diplomacy. We believe we need to let that diplomacy play out,” after the U.S. vetoed a UN call for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
I heard on October 23rd, 2023, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état.”
I watched Wael-Al Dahdouh, Al-Jazeera’s Gaza Bureau Chief, receive news of the death of his entire family on the air. The Middle East Eye reported: “The veteran journalist was seen in footage published online tearfully saying his goodbyes to his son, Mahmoud, after his body arrived at the hospital. ‘You wanted to be a journalist,’ Dahdouh said while kneeling on the floor next to Mahmoud’s dead body.”
I heard Yasmin El-Rifae, organizer of the Palestine Festival of Literature, say, “Israel has bent this world into one in which it can wage a war on children because they represent the future and contain the past, and those are two elements it denies Palestinians. For Israel, Palestinians can only exist in the present, the tense and temporality of domination.”
On the same day, I heard U.S. President Joe Biden say, “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war.”
I heard Benjamin Netanyahu say, “Whoever dares to accuse our soldiers of war crimes are hypocritical liars who lack so much as one drop of morality. The IDF is the most moral army in the world. The IDF does everything to avoid harming non-combatants. I again call on the civilian population to evacuate to a safe area in the southern Gaza Strip.”
On the same day, I heard a man in Gaza break into screams after realizing all three of his children had been killed in the bombing of the Jabalia Refugee Camp in the north of Gaza.
I heard that by the 25th of October, around 7,000 Gazans had been killed by Israeli bombardment.
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On November 5th of 2023, I heard that 100 Israeli doctors signed a letter approving the bombing of hospitals in Gaza, saying, “The residents of Gaza saw fit to turn hospitals into terrorist nests to take advantage of western morality; they are the ones who brought destruction upon themselves; terrorism must be eliminated everywhere. Attacking terrorist headquarters is the right and the duty of the Israeli army.”
I heard Senior Israeli Officials admit, after holding the Al-Shifa Hospital under siege, that they knew there were no hostages in there. They only raided it as a “symbol that there is no place we will not reach.”
I heard Khalil Skeik, a medical student who was taken prisoner outside Al-Shifa Hospital, say of his treatment at a detention facility: “After the surgery I stayed in the hospital for about five days. The entire time I was completely naked, in a diaper, with my hands cuffed and my eyes covered.”
I heard that the New York Times released a style guide to its own journalists in November 2023 that said, “Words like ‘slaughter,’ ‘massacre’ and ‘carnage’ often convey more emotion than information. Think hard before using them in our own voice.”
I heard Rana Issa, Professor at the American University of Beirut, say, “Genocides are not events. Rather, they are state policies, implemented daily through atrocious violence until the desired reduction of a certain population is achieved.”
I heard that during the first negotiated ceasefire, Hamas released 69 hostages, while Israel released 150 Palestinians held without trial.
I heard that on the same day, Israel arrested 133 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
I heard that on December 1st, Israel declined to receive a group of seven hostages and three bodies, resuming attacks on Gaza and refusing to extend the ceasefire.
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I heard that on December 8th of 2023, the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution which would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
I heard that on December 22nd of 2023, three Israeli hostages were shot by the IDF while trying to escape because they were mistaken for Palestinians.
I heard IDF Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus say, “Of course this doesn’t justify this mistake. According to the rules of engagement, soldiers are not supposed to fire when someone has a white flag.”
I heard that a month earlier, the people of Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighborhood were told to evacuate. As they walked out of their buildings holding white flags, IDF soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing at least three civilians. The IDF refused to comment.
I heard emergency worker Mohammad al-Hajar say that he was among a group of men who were trying to pull people out of collapsing buildings. Five of them were shot by Israeli snipers as they tried to approach the buildings. I heard him say, “In the light of morning, I found the pack of dogs. I was startled to see that one of them had the foot of a small child in his mouth. I chased after him, removed the little boy’s foot and buried it deep in the ground.”
I heard Ahmed Ahmed, correspondent for +972, say, “Palestinians today understand that what is presented to us as ‘temporary’ displacement almost always becomes permanent. That is why so many of us refuse to leave, even as our homes come under fire.”
I heard that former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.”
I heard that by January of 2024, an estimated 20,000 Palestinians had been killed since October 7th.
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In February of 2024 I heard Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was trapped in a car with her 15-year-old cousin, say, “I’m alive, but Layan was martyred. Mum, I’m afraid, they are all dead. Come and get me.” While on the phone with the Palestinian Relief Services, 15-year-old Layan was shot 64 times. Hind called her mother again — “I’m scared of the dark, come get me,” she said. “Don’t leave me, I’m cold, hungry, and afraid.”
I heard that two paramedics were dispatched to the site. They were killed in an explosion, along with Hind. Their bodies were recovered four days later.
I heard White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton say, “They are a close ally that will remain a close ally. They are in the throes of an existential battle — an existential threat to their existence from Hamas — and we’re going to continue to support them in that process.”
I heard that on that same day Israeli troops opened fire on 112 Palestinian people as they tried to approach aid trucks.
On March 31st, 2024, I heard Congressman Tim Walberg say in a town hall, “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It [Gaza] should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.”
I heard that a research group linked to the Hebrew University said that 76 percent of the Israeli public partially or fully agree with the statement that “there are no innocents in Gaza.”
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I heard that on July 13th, 2024, Israel dropped 200-pound bombs on the refugee tent camp near el-Mawasi, which had been designated as a ‘safe zone’ by the IDF. 100 Palestinians were killed.
The next day, the NYT came out with an article: “Israel Launches Major Attack on a Senior Hamas Commander.” In it, Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted as saying he did not have “absolute clarity” as to whether Muhammad Deif, the target of the airstrike, was killed.
I heard Israeli President Isaac Herzog say in October of 2024 that “We have to do whatever we can by all ways and means possible to bring back our hostages who are there in the tunnels and dungeons of Gaza. And the world has to realize and understand that in order to change the course of history and bring peace, a better future to the region, it must support Israel in its battle against its enemies. We are fighting the battle of the free world. We are fighting for a better future for the region. We are fighting for a future of peace.”
I heard Edward Said, perhaps the most famous Palestinian historian and philosopher, say, “My general impression is that for most Israelis, their country is invisible. Being in it means a certain blindness or inability to see what it is and what has been happening to it and, just as remarkably, an unwillingness to understand what it has meant for others in the world and especially in the Middle East. ”
I heard that by December of 2024, at least 34 hostages were confirmed dead. At least 10 of these hostages were killed by Israeli bombardment.
I heard that by December 2024, a total of 45,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza.
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I heard that during the first stage of the preliminary ceasefire in February of 2025, 6 hostages were released. Israel delayed the return of 620 Palestinian prisoners.
I heard that on March 18th of 2025, Israel resumed artillery attacks in Gaza, breaking the ceasefire.
I heard that the Palestinian prisoners released back into the Gaza Strip were subjected to torture before their release, “including burning detainees with boiling water and urinating on them.” One prisoner said, “When we asked for treatment, they told us that we are terrorists and must die.”
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I heard the International Court of Justice decide in July 2025 that “Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that it must therefore withdraw without any guarantees regarding its right to its security, which is one of the crucial elements necessary to achieve a lasting peace based on a permanent status settlement.”
I heard that in 2025, there were approximately 450,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank.
I heard that there have been almost 3,000 instances of settler violence in the West Bank since the beginning of the war, with almost 1,000 of these instances taking place in 2025. Since October 7th, almost 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
I heard that Donald Trump, President of the United States, was working on a plan to move more than one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya.
Basem Naim, former Minister of Health of Gaza and Hamas official, stated, “Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children…[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do.”
I heard the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation proposed camps called ‘Humanitarian Transit Areas’ in the Gaza Strip as places where Palestinians can “temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.”
I heard Mark Brauner, an American volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, say that as soon as the aid sites opened, civilians came in with gunshot wounds to their heads, necks, and chests. He said, “It’s really more execution-style than the typical blast injuries that we see.”
In August 2025, I heard an American stationed at one of the GHF’s ‘aid sites’ say: “This young boy, Amir [Abdulrahim], walked up to me, barefoot and wearing tattered clothes that hung off his emaciated body… He walked 12km to get there, and when he got there, he thanked us for the remnants and the small crumbs that he got…He set them down on the ground, because I was kneeling at this point, and he sets his food down, and he places his hands on my face, on the side of my face, on my cheeks. Then he was shot at with pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades and bullets shot at his feet [and then] in the air.”
I heard Amir Abdulrahim was later confirmed dead.
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In the same month, Israeli forces bombed the tent of Al-Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif.
His will read: “I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent, those who accepted our killing, and those who suffocated our very breaths…Not even the mangled bodies of our children and women moved their hearts or stopped the massacre that our people have been subjected to for over a year and a half.”
I heard the Israeli military say that he “served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation.”
I heard that by August of 2025, at least 248 journalists were killed by the IDF in Gaza.
Twenty days later, I heard that Israeli forces killed six more journalists in a double-tap attack on Nasser Hospital. Their names were Mohamed Salama, Ahmed Abu Aziz, Mariam Dagga, Hussam al-Masri, and Moaz Abu Taha.
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I heard the IPC declare a stage five famine in Gaza.
I heard the World Health Organization say, “approximately 98 percent of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible – decimating the agriculture sector and local food production – and nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes.”
I heard UNICEF director Catherine Russell say, “As we have repeatedly warned, the signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat; babies dying from hunger and preventable disease; parents arriving at clinics with nothing left to feed their children.”
I heard Rida Hijeh say of her five-year-old child, Lamia: “She cannot walk. I went to many clinics, doctors, and hospitals. They all told me my daughter is suffering from malnutrition. But none of them gave me anything, not treatment, not any support.”
I heard Oren Marmorstein, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, say, “Israel rejects the false accusations of ‘starvation’ propaganda initiated by Hamas which manipulates pictures of children suffering from terminal diseases. It is shameful.”
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I heard that a ceasefire was declared on October 10th of 2025.
I heard Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network, say that Palestinians making their way back up to the North of Gaza were exercising their right to return, illustrating “the failure of Israel in its efforts to deport the Palestinians from their land.”
I heard that the 20 surviving hostages were released, as well as the remains of twelve who died in the conflict.
I heard that 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,178 detainees, held without trial or charges from Gaza, were released.
I heard that 250 dead bodies of unidentified Palestinians were released with them, many of them burned beyond recognition.
I heard that 85 of the hostages taken by Hamas were killed.
I heard that 68,000 Palestinians have been killed.
I heard that 170,000 Palestinians have been wounded.
I heard that Israel has already broken the terms of the ceasefire, killing at least 100 Palestinians since October 10th.
I heard Mohammad el-Kurd, a Palestinian activist and political philosopher, say, “Our massacres are only interrupted by commercial breaks. Judges legalize them. Correspondents kill us with passive voice. If we are lucky, diplomats say that our death concerns them, but they never mention the culprit, let alone condemn the culprit. Politicians, inert, inept, or complicit, fund our demise, then feign sympathy, if any. Academics stand idle. That is, until the dust settles, then they will write books about what should have been.”