Though I have never stopped feeling that Gaza is my home, despite all the unspeakable hardships I am still enduring, hearing those words from Alaa was initially incomprehensible to me. But I realized that Alaa isn’t like many people who leave their countries to pursue their studies abroad. She left because she was forced to after enduring a genocide that robbed her of her dreams and people she loves. And she remains determined to return. Read Dima Fayad's full story. wearenotnumbers.org/no-place…

Too green for Gaza? Apparently, yes. Israel bans this dress, and even green clothing in general, from entering Gaza.. Another absurd restriction imposed on Palestinians, down to the colour of their clothes.

Six Palestinians were killed and 25 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. Among the victims was Misk al-Dalo, a young girl killed by Israeli army fire in al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. Two fishermen were also injured when an Israeli quadcopter drone dropped a bomb on them while they were working off the coast of al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Several other Palestinians were injured in attacks across the Strip, including in Gaza City and Khan Younis. Israeli forces continued demolitions, artillery shelling and gunfire across Gaza, targeting homes and displacement tents in eastern Gaza City, including the al-Tuffah and al-Shuja’iyya neighbourhoods, as well as areas in central and southern Gaza. Displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, Rafah, were also targeted by Israeli gunfire. Since the ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025, at least 1,517 Palestinians have been killed and 5,400 injured, while 839 bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble, according to the ministry. The cumulative death toll from Israel’s genocide in Gaza has reached 74,475, with 175,517 Palestinians injured.

This week’s Story of the Week goes to Shahed AbuAlSheikh! In her deeply personal story, Shahed recounts her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis amid the devastation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. After months of displacement, hunger, and harsh living conditions, her family returned home hoping to rebuild their lives, only to face another painful struggle. From the shock of the diagnosis to the exhausting search for medical tests, delays in accessing treatment, and the physical toll of chemotherapy, she writes about the fear and uncertainty of watching her mother fight cancer in a place where even basic medical care and adequate food remain difficult to access. Stories published on wearenotnumbers.org are written by WANN alumni from our 18 previous cohorts. Before publishing, WANNers undergo six months of intensive training in writing, journalism, and storytelling. Each WANNer is then paired with a mentor who works closely with them throughout the process, helping develop and refine their ideas and editing their stories before publication. Read the full story on our website: wearenotnumbers.org/if-the-w…

The Gaza Municipality has published photos of the remains of a man believed to have been killed by Israeli forces on al-Rashid Street in western Gaza City. Municipal workers came across the remains while carrying out routine roadwork. They shared the photos in the hope that someone might recognise him. But there is barely anything left to identify him beyond his shoes and clothes. Somewhere, a family may still be waiting for news of a loved one, unaware of what happened to him. During the genocide, travelling along al-Rashid Street could mean death. Palestinians who ventured there searching for missing relatives were routinely shot. While hundreds of bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble in recent months, around 8,000 Palestinians have remained missing since the genocide began in October 2023.

What does an ordinary day in Gaza look like after three years of genocide? WANN writer Khadija Ahmed Al Nabih shares her reality in this new video from our #WANNersSpeak series.

"Everything would still be as it was. No one would have died. If only our house had not died. If only the city, our greater home, had not died." Read WANN writer Nadera Mushtaha's full story on our website

This week’s Story of the Week goes to Jana Al Hanafi! In her deeply personal story, Jana reflects on being forcibly displaced from southern Lebanon twice by Israeli attacks, and how the experience of fleeing war reshaped her relationship with fear, memory, and belonging. From the sound of explosions that followed her onto the road to a pomegranate that offered brief relief amid hours of displacement, she writes about the lasting effects of violence and the unsettling feeling of becoming accustomed to it. Stories published on wearenotnumbers.org are written by WANN alumni from our 19 cohorts. Before publishing, WANNers undergo six months of intensive training in writing, journalism, and storytelling. Each WANNer is then paired with a mentor who works closely with them throughout the process, helping develop and refine their ideas and editing their stories before publication. Read the full story on our website 🔗 wearenotnumbers.org/our-sens…

Three years of Israeli genocide have changed what an ordinary day in #Gaza looks like. WANNers share what it means to wake up, move through the day and try to live amid three years of killing, displacement and destruction

Nearly 72,000 children in Gaza have been orphaned during three years of Israel’s war on the Strip, while more than 64,000 women have been widowed, according to figures released by Gaza’s Ministry of Social Development on Wednesday. The ministry said in a statement marking three years since the start of the war that the prolonged violence had created a deep humanitarian and social crisis affecting children, widows, older people, people with disabilities and impoverished families. It said 71,846 children had been orphaned, warning that they face growing risks of poverty, dropping out of school, exploitation and neglect. The ministry put the number of widows at 64,413, while the number of female-headed households had risen to around 86,000. It also said 118,876 older people were living in Gaza, many struggling to access medication, healthcare and adequate shelter. According to the ministry, 16,963 people with disabilities were also living in the Strip, in addition to thousands of people injured or left with amputations who require rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs. The ministry said 258,927 displaced families were living in 2,090 shelters across Gaza. More than 1.2 million people were facing crisis-level or worse food insecurity, while 530,000 families had been registered on the national aid system, it added.

A new Google Maps update offers a stark view of the devastation inflicted on Gaza after three years of war, while showing how the humanitarian crisis continues to deepen. Satellite images captured in June reveal widespread destruction of homes, businesses, places of worship and vital infrastructure, including damage that continued after the fragile ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago. Along Gaza’s coastline, vast tent camps now stretch for miles, with many shelters standing just metres from the sea. The territory’s once-bustling main port lies heavily damaged, its fishing boats gone and its surroundings filled with makeshift shelters. In #Gaza City, almost every available open space has been taken over by tents, shacks and makeshift huts.

We Are Not Numbers trains young Palestinians to tell stories. But in #Gaza, sometimes getting to the training is a story of its own. Watch Shahd Al-Naami from our 19th cohort tell us what it takes to make it to WANN’s trainings.

An Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment in #Gaza City’s al-Remal neighbourhood early Saturday killed at least five Palestinians, including four women, and severely wounded at least six others. The victims identified so far are Dr. Yasmine Khamis Al-Boubou, head of the Multimedia Department at the University of Palestine; and two Christian women Mary Hafez Abu Dawoud and her daughter Maysa Abu Dawoud; and two others, including a woman whose identity has not yet been confirmed.

The Story of the Week goes to… Shahd Abu al-Shaikh. What happens when horror stops being something you watch, and becomes the reality you wake up to every day? Shahd writes about her brother Yazan, a 17-year-old who once feared horror movies, but after living through the horrors of war in Gaza, found that nothing on a screen could scare him anymore. Read the full story on our website

In a powerful and deeply moving display of international solidarity, thousands of Turkish football fans showered the pitch with toys, dolls, and stuffed animals on Wednesday evening during a historic friendly match dedicated to the children of the Gaza Strip. The event took place at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium during a highly anticipated match between the Turkish club Konyaspor and the Palestinian National Team (Reserve). Organized under the banner “Our Home is Your Home,” the match was designed to honor the victims of the ongoing conflict and to raise global awareness about the plight of children in Palestine. Just before kickoff, names of children who were killed by Israel in #Gaza were displayed on the stadium’s giant screens. In response, the entire stadium erupted in cheers as spectators hurled thousands of soft toys onto the green turf, a symbolic gesture aiming to remind the world of the joy and basic rights denied to the children of the besieged enclave.

In some parts of the world, a phone might mainly be an entertainment device. But for me and other Gazan students, it’s what allows us to study. It’s how we stay in touch with our lecturers, how we attend our lectures, and how we complete our homework assignments despite scarce resources. Here in Gaza, a phone is our lifeline for learning. Read WANN writer Reem Abd's full story on our website. wearenotnumbers.org/the-fami…

Families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central #Gaza Strip gathered in grief on Tuesday to hold a mass funeral for 43 people whose remains were recently recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. The remains buried this week belonged to victims of past military strikes, including bombardments dating back to late 2023. For nearly three years, their bodies remained trapped under collapsed concrete structures, such as the Al-Muhandisin Tower, before local teams were finally able to reach them. Civil defense workers and local residents continue to excavate these sites under severe restrictions. Due to an acute shortage of fuel and heavy engineering machinery, recovery teams are frequently forced to clear tons of shattered concrete using shovels, basic tools, and their bare hands.