mezan /15 May 2024

Gaza — To mark Nakba Day, Al Mezan has compiled a touching collection of testimonies from survivors of the 1948 Nakba and who continue to face the ongoing Nakba in Gaza. Among these testimonies is that of Ouda Salem Ouda Abu Haddaf. Born in 1936 in a village next to Beer El-Sabe, he hails from a lineage of Palestinian Bedouins indigenous to the Naqab region. He shared with our researchers:

“I lived with my family in a tent and we owned a large area of agricultural land. My father worked in agriculture and bred livestock. The villagers mainly cultivated wheat and barley and herded livestock. We had a traditional nomadic Bedouin life. It was comfortable and tranquil, and we benefited from an abundant yield from our lands. 

By 1948, Israeli troops had initiated fierce attacks against the Palestinian villages and cities, aiming to displace their residents. Following these attacks, residents started fleeing to nearby areas to save their lives and those of their children. In 1948 our village in the Beer El-Sabe district was subjected to a brutal Israeli attack, during which children, women and elderly people were killed, creating a state of terror and fear among the remaining villagers. This led to a further mass exodus of occupants of neighboring villages.  

My family and I sought refuge in the city of Al-Dhahiriya, located within the Hebron Governorate. However, our stay was short. Within less than ten days, we faced another assault by the Israeli military. Fleeing once more, we sought safety in the city of Yibna, where our suffering deepened. We struggled to sustain ourselves because we had left our belongings, property and livestock in our village, from which we had been displaced.

Subsequently, after yet another attack, we relocated first to the village of Beit Daras, then to Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the Gaza Strip. After living  there for several months, we headed towards the southern part of Rafah city, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where we set up tents and settled. 

Over the course of several months, we endured multiple hardships and underwent multiple displacements. Each displacement was marked by tragic tragic episodes, drenched in the blood and tears of innocent civilians, including women and children. After settling in Rafah city, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provided us with a modest home in the refugee camp in Rafah. Later, I went to the Sinai Desert in northern Egypt and settled there. I remained in Sinai for approximately 18 years and  worked in sheep herding and livestock farming. Then I returned to the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the Gaza Strip, where some  people from my village were living. We erected our tent next to theirs and settled in the area.

We worked in sheep herding and agriculture. Following the construction of houses by UNRWA in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, we bought a home and settled in the camp. At that time, despite having previously owned several agricultural lands and livestock, we struggled to fulfill our essential needs due to a limited income. 

Over time, we began to adapt to life in Gaza and started seeking employment. I engaged in sheep herding and livestock farming within the 1948 occupied territories [i.e., what is nowadays Israel].. During that time, I got married and became a parent to four children. As they grew up, our house became too cramped, prompting us to buy a house west of Al-Karama area, in the northern governorate of Gaza.

From our displacement from our village in 1948 until the end of the first intifada, we have faced ongoing challenges. The arrival of the Palestinian Authority brought a brief sense of improvement, but the onset of the second intifada brought renewed difficulties. From the 2008 Israeli military offensive on attack on Gaza war onwards, these hardships have persisted to this day.

Throughout all these wars, I have experienced my share of suffering and challenges, yet the most difficult war is the one that began on 7 October 2023. As the Israeli assault on Gaza commenced, the occupying forces dropped leaflets in the Al-Karama area, instructing the residents of Gaza City to relocate to the south of Wadi Gaza. Fearing for their lives and the safety of their children, my sons began preparing to move to the south and asked me to join them. However, in that moment, memories of my village, from which I was displaced in 1948, flooded back, along with the pain of displacement. I declined to go with them, choosing instead to remain at home to protect it and my livelihood.

My sons, along with their spouses and children – 20 people in total – sought refuge in shelter camps in Deir al-Balah city, while I remained in my home. One night the occupying forces targeted entire residential areas in the Al-Karama area, resulting in significant casualties. Amidst these deadly strikes, my house was destroyed, and I suffered a devastating loss as approximately 40 animals perished.

The next morning I gathered what was left of my animals and took them with me from the Al-Karama area to Deir al-Balah city. As I fled imminent danger, leaving behind my home and means of livelihood,  I was struck by memories of our displacement in 1948. I feared that I might never return to northern Gaza, as the harrowing experiences during this latest journey echoed those of the first. The scenes were repeating themselves as people fled from death. The smell of death was everywhere, and bodies were scattered across the ground.

I don't know how the journey ended, but I suddenly found myself at the entrance of Deir al-Balah city, where my sons were waiting for me. They took me to the shelter in the center of Deir al-Balah. Upon seeing the tents of displaced people, I struggled to come to terms with the harsh reality. I stayed in bed for about 20 days, unable to move or speak.

Over time, diseases and epidemics have spread within the displacement camps due to Israel's deliberate targeting and destruction of infrastructure, particularly sewage systems, causing streets to be flooded with sewage. The increased population density among the displaced, coupled with a lack of healthcare, has further worsened the humanitarian crisis. My health has significantly declined, and I am currently confined to my bed, awaiting death – whether from deteriorating health or  at the hands of the occupying forces. I do not seek a return to my village or residential area in northern Gaza. Instead, my only hope is for the world to halt the genocide against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.”