During the past few days, the pace of Israeli strikes and attacks in Gaza has clearly intensified, bringing back a feeling we never really escaped in the first place: not knowing who will be next. Yesterday, a group of civilians was targeted. Four people were killed and others were wounded, some critically, with little hope of survival. Today, a public bus was targeted in al Alhawa while pulling a trailer that was also packed with passengers. So far, reports say that six people were killed and around 15 others wounded, some of them critically. Just ordinary people trying to get from one place to another. This escalation comes as the Israeli elections approach, and with them, the competition over security, power, victory, and who can prove themselves tougher than the others. And what better way to prove strength in a country where power and arrogance have increasingly become measures of success? The blood of innocent people. Yes, our blood. Our spilled blood has now become part of this political competition too. Killing more people in Gaza can be presented to Israeli voters as proof of strength. Another torn Palestinian body becomes another number that some politician can somehow add to the list of his achievements. For them, this may be about elections, polls, seats, coalitions, and who will be in power a few weeks from now. For us, an Israeli strike means that a mother will hear her son’s name among the dead today. A child will return to the tent without his father. A man got on public transport this morning simply because he needed to get somewhere, and his life ended before he arrived. This is what all these speeches about strength look like from our side. I don’t know how many more times we are expected to die before everyone has finally proved how strong they are over our bodies. Ya Wahdna… How much pain can one people carry? My heart hurts from all of this. #SurvivalTestimony