PALESTINIAN STORIES AMID WAR
BY Tasneem Yousuf
The Samir Mansour Bookshop was reduced to rubble in the 2021 war on Gaza. Back then, images of the demolished store went viral on social media, sparking a global fundraising campaign.
With the help of generous donations, Mansour, 59, the father of 6 children, rebuilt the bookshop from the ashes on an area spanning more than 1,000 square meters, triple the size of the original store. He stocked the bookshop with a bigger collection of 400,000 books in various languages, covering children’s stories, science, philosophy, self-help, art, history, fiction, novels, and poetry.
His bookshop grew to be a favorite spot among students and passionate readers since opening in 2000 on a busy Gaza City block near three universities. But now, it stands as a symbol of Gaza’s resistance.
Hussam Al-Attar, 15, has been named the “Newton of Gaza” by the tent residents after he successfully generated electricity in his tent with basic tools. Amid a widespread shortage of energy and almost every necessary basic material. He achieved it by using what was left from the destruction of Israel’s war on Gaza.
‘I thought of how to illuminate the place, so I brought a fan and installed it to convert the kinetic energy from the wind force into electrical energy,’
Hussam al-Attar, 15, tells Anadolu.
On Jan. 29, on the call, which lasted for about three-and-a-half hours. 6-year-old Hind Rajab begged rescue workers to come save her after the family’s car came under fire.
Alone in the backseat, outside a Gaza City gas station, she was drifting in and out of consciousness, surrounded by the dead bodies of her dear family members, as she told emergency dispatchers that Israeli tanks were rumbling closer. Two dispatchers with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) sent to save her were also killed.
Twelve days later, when a Palestinian civil defense crew finally reached the area, they found Hind’s body in a car riddled with bullets, according to her uncle, Samir Hamada, who also arrived at the scene early that morning. The ambulance lay roughly 50 meters (about 164 feet) away from the car. Its destruction is consistent with the use of a round fired by Israeli tanks, according to six munitions experts.
Dr. Adnan Al-Barsh, Head of the Orthopedic Department at Al-Shifa Hospital. Bravely remained at the hospital during the conflict, tending to the wounded and sick despite facing threats and bombings. Tragically, he was injured and later kidnapped by occupying soldiers. When he refused to falsely claim that the hospital was used by Palestinian resistance forces, he was beaten to death by Israeli soldiers.
“His death certificate came out before his birth certificate was issued.”
Rayyan was only 51 days old; he was born during the temporary ceasefire and killed during the war.
