Dr. Az al-Din Shahab described how Hamas destroyed the Gaza Strip.
By Rachel Avraham
Last Friday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire deal, where all Israeli hostages are expected to be freed from captivity on Monday. This is phase one of US President Donald Trump’s 20 point peace plan for Gaza. In later phases, a team of technocrats led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to assume control of Gaza and prepare the coastal strip to have a Hamas-free government. As the war comes to an end, both Palestinians and Israelis are beginning to examine the toll that the war has taken on their lives.
After the UK recognized Palestine, Hamas declared victory, but there are some Palestinians who do not agree with this assessment. Arutz Sheva reported that Dr. Az al-Din Shahab, a physician from the Gaza Strip, published an unusually harsh and deeply personal post on X, describing his mental collapse following the destruction of his home, family, and neighborhood. According to him, more than seventy members of his family were killed, and all his property was destroyed.
He wrote: “Since the early hours of the morning, my family and I have been living through a complete psychological breakdown. Today we learned that our homes, our land, and our entire neighborhood – every house belonging to our family and our neighbors – have been completely erased. Bulldozed. Flattened into yellow, silent dust.”
He continued: “From the first light of day, we experienced the full meaning of defeat. We lost more than seventy members of our family. We lost our land. We no longer have a home to return to, there are no walls to protect us, there is no longer any place we can call our own.”
Sharply criticizing the Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, Arutz Sheva reported that Dr. Shahab accused the terror group of constructing a false narrative of resilience while the civilian population bears the full price.
“One of Hamas’ leaders appears on television and declares that ‘the people were not defeated,’ that ‘Gaza stood firm and fought a historic war,’” he said.
“So let history record the following: I, Dr. Az al-Din Shahab of Gaza, along with my family, my friends, and their families – we did not fight in any war. We were the victims of a destruction ignited from within our homes by Hamas, only so that the IDF would powerfully strike Gaza’s civilians, while Hamas’ fighters vanished into their tunnels.”
He added: “Let history record the truth: We were defeated. Completely defeated – in pain, in humiliation. And only we, the residents of Gaza, have the right to say whether we were defeated or not – not those sitting comfortably in Qatar or Turkey.”
He went on: “We were trampled, humiliated, and broken after our city was destroyed, conquered, and erased. We were uprooted from our place and left with nothing, wandering through the ruins of our own lives.”
“We were not steadfast. We were hostages in our own land. We could not leave. We could not change those who claim to rule over us. If there is one moment in my life to tell the truth – without fear, without hesitation – this is that moment. Let it be written clearly: We were not soldiers in a war. We were the bodies buried beneath it,” he concluded.
Photo from Jaber Jehad Badwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip#/media/File:Gaza_war_2023_-_2025_IMG_8182.png
