By Alice Cuddy BBC News, Jerusalem


The call to Mahmoud Shaheen came at dawn.

It was Thursday 19 October at about 06:30, and Israel had been bombing Gaza for 12 days straight.

He'd been in his third-floor, three-bedroom flat in al-Zahra, a middle-class area in the north of the Gaza Strip. Until now, it had been largely untouched by air strikes.

He'd heard a rising clamour outside. People were screaming. "You need to escape," somebody in the street shouted, "because they will bomb the towers".

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 94 points 2 years ago* (13 children)

This story made me cry. I am disabled and not always mobile. There are loved ones in my family who are elderly, cannot walk far, and depend on medication.

I cannot even imagine what it must be like to try to evacuate at short notice, with nowhere to go.

  • source
  • hideshow 13 child comments
  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It is brutal, just incredibly sad. Israel’s military has a long history of weaponizing disability, as you may know, and it’s been illuminating to examine that further.

    When you’re ready, the excellent disability-focused podcast Death Panel offered some insights I had never encountered elsewhere. Please listen to the following episodes on SoundCloud or wherever you would like. I hope they can offer some solace and empowerment.

    Public Health and Palestine with Danya Qato

    Body Politics with Jasbir Puar

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [+] -69 points 2 years ago (9 children)

    they need to go south - that's somewhere.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] 39 points 2 years ago* (3 children)

    they need to go south - that's somewhere.

    You're either incredibly ignorant or deliberately trying to incite hatred.

    Go south??

    You mean to this refugee camp that Israel told them to go to, that they then bombed anyway?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Well... yes.

    North = you'll get bombed.
    South = you'll get bombed maybe.
    East = you'll get shot.
    West = you'll get shot and drown.

    It's a shitty situation, but I'd pick South. 🤷

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm not sure your argument is fair. "Maybe" is anywhere. Two nights ago half the casualties came from the South.

    I understand why many people chose to stay home and die together with their families rather than be dragged around forever and then die anyway.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] -1 points 2 years ago

    From what it looks like, North, East and West, are more of a "for sure" than a "maybe".

    I also understand why people choose to die at home, it's somewhat harder to understand why anyone with a chance to live would willingly stay in the area, since all of Gaza has been reeking of "death camp" for well over a decade.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago

    Ah yes, please leave your home, with everything in it included, all your memories, possessions, everything and leave within 2 hours "south". Just generally "south". Oh and you can't come back btw, your house wont exist.

  • source
  • parent