A voice from Gaza

Before we talk about the future, we need to remember where we stand.
As part of La Mansarda’s ongoing support for Emergency NGO and its humanitarian mission, we share here the powerful testimony of Mohammed Al-Zedba, a doctor who lived and worked through the most recent war in Gaza.
His words are not just a report — they are a cry for justice, dignity, and action.
They remind us why art, community, and solidarity matter.
Please read, reflect, and continue to stand with those whose voices are too often silenced.

​"During the war, I worked in several hospitals across Gaza. I witnessed pain that words cannot truly describe — pain that I carry with me every day. My family and I were displaced five times, from the north to the south. And even now, my family and my fiancée’s family are still trapped in Gaza — starving, afraid, and living without shelter.
I speak to you today not only as a doctor, but as a witness — a witness to suffering, to injustice, and to crimes that the world must no longer ignore.

The Palestinian struggle is not new. For more than 75 years, we have been oppressed, displaced, and dehumanized. We have been killed, imprisoned, and silenced — simply for existing on our own land, for resisting the occupation of that land.
The occupation controls everything in our lives. They have taken our homes, our freedom, and our future. They do not even allow us to dream of a better life.
This didn’t start on October 7th, 2023. We remember long before that — before the Nakba in 1948, before the Naksa in 1967, and before the Balfour Declaration, when the British gave away Palestinian land. That decision destroyed countless lives — including ours.
Since 1948, our people have been repeatedly attacked: Gaza has faced war in 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021, and now again in 2023–2024. And in every war, one pattern never changes: Israel starts the violence, and civilians pay the price.
As a doctor, I saw things that will haunt me forever.
I treated children with third- and fourth-degree burns. I saw bodies torn to pieces. I saw people dying of starvation because no food was allowed in, and others dying because life-saving medicine was blocked.
I remember when I was working at the European Hospital in Rafah — families took shelter inside, thinking a hospital would be safe. Tents were set up in every hallway, every department. But even hospitals were targeted. The IDF claimed they were attacking Hamas, but again and again, the truth came out: they were lying.
•More than 18,000 children have been killed.
•More than 28,000 women and girls.
•Over 39,000 children are now orphans in Gaza.
These are not numbers. They are human beings. They had dreams, futures, families.
If you ask a child in Gaza today what their dream is, many will say: “To eat chicken… or meat… or to live in peace.” Can you imagine that?
What is the fault of an orphaned child? What is the fault of the sick and hungry?
Homes have been destroyed. Schools, hospitals, mosques, and churches have been bombed. Families have nowhere to go. There is no safe place left.
I saw children burned in front of me. I saw patients killed inside hospitals, including in operating rooms. Doctors were arrested while performing surgery. Some were kidnapped and later tortured.
And perhaps the most painful thing I experienced as a doctor… Was seeing colleagues receive their own family members as martyrs. Imagine treating patients with your hands shaking — because your mother, father, brother, or sister was just brought in lifeless. This is trauma we will never forget.
What’s happening in Gaza is not just a conflict — it is systematic brutality, and it must stop.
But I want to leave you with something stronger than pain. Hope. And truth.
You are not alone. You are not wrong. You are on the right side of history.
The Palestinian cause is not only a Palestinian issue — it is a universal struggle for justice, for freedom, and for human dignity. It belongs to every honorable and free person in the world.
And so I ask you: Do not give us your pity. Give us your voice. Give us your action. Give us your solidarity.
•Keep standing up for justice.
•Keep supporting the rights of Palestinians.
•Keep speaking about Gaza and the suffering of its people.
•Boycott companies and institutions that support Israeli war crimes.
•Support Palestinian prisoners, especially those being tortured and silenced.

We are not asking for anything more than what every human being deserves: Safety, freedom, and dignity.

His words are not only a testimony, but a call to conscience.
May his voice remind us that behind every number is a life, and that solidarity begins with listening.

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About the author:

Dr. Mohammed Al-Zedba (Gaza, Palestine) is a Palestinian medical graduate from Al-Azhar University, Gaza (Class of 2025). A survivor of the war in Gaza, he has worked across several hospitals during the conflict, treating patients in extreme conditions while being repeatedly displaced with his family.
He has completed multiple clinical attachments at the Royal Free Hospital in London in General Surgery, Cardiology, Internal and Emergency Medicine, and Anesthesia. He also contributed to a medical evacuation mission in collaboration with WHO, the EU, and HSE Ireland.
Alongside his medical work, Dr. A. is a founding member of Children Not Numbers NGO, a former board member of Save Gaza Children, and a dedicated volunteer in several community health and awareness campaigns.
Beyond healthcare, he is skilled in communication, public speaking, and media production, and is passionate about using both his voice and creative tools to advocate for human rights, especially in times of conflict.