A letter from Gaza
30 June, 2025Feda al Hassanat works for Diakonia's partner organization Tamer Institute in Gaza. She wrote us a letter. While we do what we can to support our partner organizations on the ground, we share her story.
"The situation in Gaza has become unimaginably dire. Death no longer feels like the most painful thing — because living under the shadow of death is far more agonizing.
I am writing to you now on an empty stomach. I can feel the hunger consuming my insides. Instead of an occupier forcing me out of my home, I now have an occupier inside me — this hunger, devouring me from within and leaving me completely hollow.
They lie to the world, claiming they have set up aid distribution points. But they hide behind their heavy weapons and snipe at the starving. I feel as though I am trapped in a real-life Squid Game.
Death and blood are everywhere. Every time you leave your home, you pray to return safely — or at least to find your home and your loved ones still alive when you do.
"I work in the humanitarian sector, yet there are no services left for us to provide except for psychosocial support. There is no food, no clothing, no medicine, and no hygiene supplies. I feel utterly helpless. People come to me asking for help, for food — and I myself am starving."
I work in the humanitarian sector, yet there are no services left for us to provide except for psychosocial support. There is no food, no clothing, no medicine, and no hygiene supplies. I feel utterly helpless. People come to me asking for help, for food — and I myself am starving.
There is no flour to bake bread, which is the most filling food we could hope for. We are forced to divide whatever bread we can find into small portions, so it lasts for the whole family. Half a piece of bread a day — leaving me hungry through the night.
The torment of hunger is unbearable. And now, I find myself thinking that death would be easier. For the one who dies, the war ends.
I want to thank Diakonia for making our voices heard, for making our cries matter. Thank you to everyone who stands with us in the streets of Europe. We love you, and we feel that we are not alone when we see your images in the marches supporting Palestinians and calling for an end to the genocide. You give us a bit of hope — the hope we had begun to lose."
Feda al Hassanat, Gaza, June 2025
