Turning 20 in Gaza: “I want to live not merely survive”
JVL Introduction
As we continue to campaign for freedom, justice and peace for Palestinians, as we continue to receive updates on the Gaza death toll being a third higher than official figures, we want also to remember the people. Many of us have struggled to imagine life in Gaza even when we are in contact with friends and colleagues there.
The latest figures put deaths in Gaza at c, 75,000. This equates to 3.4% of the pre October 7th 2023 population in Gaza (2.2 million). Basing the UK population at 60 million, the equivalent number of deaths would be 2,040,000 people. For the USA it would be equate to nearly 12 million dead.
This is a survivor’s story; a young, ambitious woman turning twenty and considering what survival has meant, how many people to whom she was close have been killed. Her moving, heartbreaking and also powerful account should be compulsory reading for every apologist, every member of our complicit governments.
This article was originally published by Palestine Deep Dive on Wed 18 Feb 2026. Read the original here.
‘I don’t recognise myself’: Turning 20 in Gaza
What does it mean to turn twenty in a world that allows you only to survive, not to live?
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‘The hunger that taught us how to ration hope’.
Taqwa must survive. The Zionists are terrified of the talent in people like her. It is painful having to watch at what is happening – I force myself to, and every day try to do something to give support knowing it will never be enough.