The Salama family, with whom we are in contact in Gaza – and who until recently distributed drinking and shower water to refugees in Gaza – are having a very tough time. They now have to flee to the south of Gaza. To a so-called “humanitarian zone” in Gaza, but as everyone knows, nowhere in Gaza is really safe. On Friday 12 September, Salama sent me these messages:

I am trying by all means to move to the southern Gaza Strip. But the problem lies in the lack of sufficient trucks to transport the displaced, and also the prices of trucks are very high, as some of them exceed 1,000 USD.

In Gaza, the situation is generally very difficult. Yesterday there were more than 20 explosions very close to our house. Yesterday felt like doomsday. Sounds of explosions and smoke everywhere. There were two explosions not 100 meters from our house. Rubble and shrapnel fell on us….

Internet connection has become very difficult.

There is not much I can do for Salama’s family, although I try to be a listening ear for him. We also give Salama money for projects for the people in Gaza. Because Salama and his family now have to flee again, the projects have been put on hold. We try to amplify their voices and calls for peace. For example, Salama recently announced that Donald Trump had indicated that the Americans were also negotiating a ceasefire:

We hope that this agreement will succeed, that the war will stop, that the hostages will return, and that this suffering will end.

I find it admirable that Salama only wants the war to end, the hostages to be released, and the suffering to stop. Despite the many hardships he and his family have endured and the many people around him he has lost, he never talks about feelings of revenge.

This weekend, the NOS website reported that, according to De Volkskrant, children in Gaza are being targeted. The gunshot wounds found on 114 children, or probably more, in Gaza indicate that they were deliberately shot at. Incidentally, on 25 July 2024, 45 American doctors and nurses who had worked in Gaza wrote a warning letter to the American president and vice-president about these kinds of practices. They also called for an arms embargo on both Israel and Palestinian armed groups and for a ceasefire. And to withhold military and economic support from Israel until a ceasefire had been reached.

Israel has killed at least 63,633 people in Gaza and injured 160,914, according to the Ministry of Health, Al Jazeera reports. The IPC stated on 22 August that 514,000 people in the Gaza Strip, about a quarter of the population, are experiencing hunger. This number is expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September. According to Al Jazeera, the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza now stands at 361, including 130 children, since the genocide began on 7 October 2023. All this, while trucks carrying aid supplies are waiting at the border. What a moral low point. One would expect this to open the eyes of political leaders.

Meanwhile, calls for military intervention by the UN are growing, for example by sending an international force. This was written by former diplomats and prominent former politicians in a letter to outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, according to an article in NRC Handelsblad. Military intervention? I don’t know. I would think that would lead to even more violence, but then again, I’m no expert and I also want the genocide to stop…

Peace SOS is a small charity that works for peace through peaceful means. It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that we have to impose an arms embargo on Israel, something I have been advocating for a long time. And it is also clear why large NGOs such as Oxfam and Pax have filed lawsuits against the Dutch state. It also seems obvious to me that countries should ask the American president to put an end to the genocide in Gaza by peaceful means. But anyway, his Riviera plan for Gaza and his unwavering support for Israel despite all the deaths and genocide make me wonder how much he cares about the lives of Palestinian children. The life of every child, every human being, should be cherished. No matter where the child was born. Perhaps that is not a direct solution to the genocide in Gaza, but it does contribute to it.

I also hope that the brave people of the Global Sumud Flotilla reach their destination in Gaza by ship and that they are able to deliver humanitarian aid. If that is not possible, then at least let them remain safe. They are a ray of hope for humanity, even though these people, including young people, should not have to risk their lives. It is also somewhat shameful that they feel the need to do this; it is up to us “older adults” and a call to politicians to achieve peace through peaceful means. If we live in harmony with each other, young people will be able to flourish. And then we can focus on other very urgent matters such as ending hunger, combating climate change, and protecting nature. May we take care of each other and nature.

May there soon be a world in which all children can play.

 

 

Author: May-May Meijer, founder Peace SOS

Photo: Gaza city being bombed, photographer unknown, photo via Salama, date app 5 September 2025

Note: This article was published in Dutch under the title: Gisteren voelde als doemdag in Gaza. on the Joop BNNVARA website on 14 September 2025.