The Sound of Bombing by W, Gaza

The sound of a bombing came again, this noise carries different feelings and memories. I remembered everything that happened throughout my life in Gaza. Three devastating wars that brought nothing but sadness and despair. In that moment I heard the bombing noise, I recalled everything that happened during the last way on Gaza in 2014. Every moment of fear, the sense of being petrified and the images of torn apart people are just some of my recollections at that moment. I can’t really describe to you what happened exactly during those moments because no matter how many times I tried, you won’t be able to feel exactly what I felt that day.

It was almost midnight and we were sitting in the middle of the Gaza Strip in a place called the unknown soldier square after leaving our house. We used to live in the area that was close to the borders, the Israeli army labeled it as a red area. Given this label, we were forced to leave it due to the constant bombing. We weren’t able to sleep in peace and if we tried to do so, the sound of heavy bombing would wake us up and kill the moment of peace that we used to have. After leaving our house, we went to the unknown soldier square because we thought that it would be safer. We were wrong!!

There was no electricity, I was sitting in the darkness thinking about my future plans. I want to become an English professor one day. I want to get married and settle down in a small house near the beach. I’m not asking for too much. Or is too much to ask for? Sometimes I wonder if I’m asking for too much. Maybe as a Palestinian I don’t have the right to live a normal life…

After an hour of over-thinking, my brother came running and screaming. I didn’t understand what was happening. I saw my family running down stairs. My brain stopped working suddenly, I was asking what’s going on?

My brother told me that the place we are sitting in is about to be destroyed by the Israeli war planes. I went down stairs after making sure that everyone managed to get out safely. I saw my sisters and my mother but I didn’t see my father. I went back to look for him but he wasn’t up there and while I was running back I heard a sound of explosion. They hit the building with a small rocket as a final warning. The people started to run swiftly. I still remember that I saw a little girl crying and calling for her mom. I tried to calm her down but she was too afraid. I carried her and I ran. Luckily her mother saw me and she came to take her. We were heading to a small hospital near to hide. I saw an old man on the ground. He fell down while running. It was too dark, I wasn’t able to see clearly with the dust. I went to him to help him get up, it was such a shock for me. I managed to recognize the man. He was my father. He is too old to run that’s why he fell. I helped him to stand and another man helped me to carry him because he injured himself. I was so afraid. I cried like a baby. I guess that was too much to handle at this young age. Luckily, we reached the hospital and the doctors took care of my dad’s wounds. More than 100 people were gathered in a very small rooms in the hospital. Injured people kept coming from different places to the hospital. Most of them were women and children. We stayed in the hospital until the morning. This was the last day of the war on Gaza. The war ended but left pain that will take a long time to fully heal.

Now, after hearing the sound of bombing, I wish that those days will never come back. I still believe in peace. I pray everyday that one day all of our pains will fade away the same way as water runs away.