“They Say They Will Invade Gaza City and Fully Occupy It, We Say We Have Already Lived Through Death”
Our field message to the world - from Sa7ten’s team on the Ground
We speak from Gaza, where every day we live with the expectation of a full invasion. The occupation has declared its plan, and we know what that means: more bombing, more displacement, more attempts to erase us. But let us be clear, death does not frighten us anymore. We have already lived through it. Every home here has seen blood. Every family has carried the weight of burial. What unsettles us is knowing that no one will hold the occupation to account. America has given its approval, and the Arab states have abandoned us to silence.
We remember the days when nothing was left. No flour, no rice, no medicine. We had nothing to cook, nothing to give. That time broke us. We promised ourselves not to face it again. So this time, we moved quickly. We searched the markets, negotiated, and bought what we could. A ton of rice. A ton of pasta. Seven hundred cans of tomato sauce. Three hundred bottles of oil. We carried them at night, hiding them in the spaces where our children are supposed to sleep. It is not abundance, but it is a shield against starvation when the invasion begins.
Before, we used to say: we will cook until the last grain of rice in Gaza. Today, we say: we will cook even under the tank gun.
This is not about showing courage, it is a responsibility. Our people expect Sa7ten to be there. And we are ready. We spend days searching and bargaining, in markets controlled by vendors who profit under the occupation’s protection, using scarcity to subjugate our people. Still, we secure what we can, because these supplies are meant for people when nothing else is left. And we do this knowing that if the criminal occupying forces reach us, we may not be able to move the goods again. We might simply end up handing them to families as they flee for their lives, but at least they will not leave empty‑handed.
Around us, families move their tents, searching for safer ground, preparing for forced displacement. But we will not leave Gaza. Even if the invasion comes, Gaza remains. We will not abandon our land. We cannot.
This struggle is bigger than us. It is not only for Gaza. It is for humanity. Every day we carry this weight, while the world looks away, hiding behind neutrality. What is happening here should not allow anyone to remain comfortable in their skin. Our people are giving everything, and the world owes us more than silence.
