Gaza War Deepens Palestinian Nakba Trauma 78 Years Later

Palestinians across Gaza marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba on Friday as many described the devastation caused by the ongoing war as even worse than the mass displacement of 1948.

The Arabic word “Nakba,” meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the forced displacement and flight of roughly 750,000 Palestinians during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

Now, amid widespread destruction in Gaza, displaced families say history is repeating itself on a far larger scale.

Palestinians compare current war to the 1948 Nakba

For 78-year-old Palestinian refugee Yusuf Abu Hamam, the current conflict has erased what little remained of the life his family rebuilt after being displaced decades ago.

His original village, al-Joura, was destroyed during the 1948 war and later replaced by parts of the Israeli city of Ashkelon and a national park.

After fleeing as an infant, his family settled in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza. Today, much of that neighborhood has also been devastated by Israeli airstrikes and military operations.

“There is no country left,” Abu Hamam said while standing near his heavily damaged home.

Large parts of Gaza reduced to rubble

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israeli forces now control roughly 60% of Gaza.

More than 2 million Palestinians are now concentrated into less than half of the Gaza Strip, according to reports cited in the article.

Satellite imagery and local accounts show:

• Entire neighborhoods flattened
• Refugee camps heavily damaged
• Large sections of Rafah destroyed
• New Israeli military zones replacing former residential areas

Israeli officials say operations are targeting Hamas infrastructure and preparing certain areas for future reconstruction.

Repeated displacement fuels growing humanitarian crisis

Many Gazans say the repeated evacuations and instability make the current crisis even more traumatic than the original Nakba.

Majida Abu Jarad said her family has been displaced more than a dozen times during the war.

The family now lives in a crowded tent camp in Khan Younis after losing their home in Beit Hanoun.

“Our Nakba is more severe because our displacement has happened multiple times,” she said.

According to U.N. estimates:

• Around 90% of Gaza’s population has lost their homes
• Most displaced residents now live in tent camps
• Severe shortages of water, sanitation and food continue

The war’s toll continues to rise

Local health officials in Gaza say more than 72,700 Palestinians have been killed since the war began following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

That Hamas-led assault killed around 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities, while militants also abducted 251 hostages.

The ongoing conflict has also spread into the occupied West Bank, where tens of thousands of Palestinians remain displaced after Israeli military operations in refugee camps including:

• Jenin
• Tulkarem
• Nur Shams

UNRWA races to preserve Palestinian records

The war has also threatened historical and legal records tied to Palestinian refugee identity.

Staff members from UNRWA reportedly rescued critical refugee documents from Gaza offices after Israeli evacuation orders forced them to flee.

The records include:

• Birth certificates
• Marriage documents
• Refugee registration files

Without those archives, many Palestinians risk losing official refugee status and access to humanitarian protections.

Palestinians say history is being erased again

For many families, the destruction extends beyond homes and infrastructure.

Family photographs, legal papers and personal belongings tied to generations of Palestinian history have also been lost beneath the rubble.

“When this war came, it devoured trees, stones and people,” Abu Hamam said. “Entire families were erased.”