‘Beginning of an end’: Gazan woman tells her story of how October 7 destroyed her world

Marah Al Satri, a 20-year-old Palestinian from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, reflects with pain on the events of the past year, which began on October 7, 2023, when some 3,000 Hamas militants infiltrated southern Israel, kidnapping 252 people and leaving over 1,200 people dead and 5,000 injured.

“I was sleeping and was awakened by the sounds of rockets. I was terrified and did not know what was happening. Nor did I know who was launching the rockets, whether it was Israel or the armed factions,” she recalls.

But the speech of Mohammed Deif, the then commander of Al Qassam Brigades, which was screened on Saturday morning, shortly after the beginning of the Hamas attack, left no room for doubt.

“We have decided to put an end to all of the occupation’s crimes,” he said. “The time is over for them [Israel] to [continue to] act without accountability. Thus, we announce the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation, and in the first strike within 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets were launched.”

Al Satri says she was “terrified” when she heard the speech. She was certain “Israel would want to take revenge” and sensed that it was the beginning of an end.

What followed was the materialization of her fears. Since October 7, Israel’s extensive bombardment has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people, many of whom were women and children. Thousands of others have been wounded or are unaccounted for.

The bombardment and the intense fighting have also led to massive destruction. By September 13, 44% of Gaza’s hospitals had become partially functional, while 85% of schools and 68% of farmland had been impacted. Nearly 59% of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed. More than a million people have become internally displaced.

That fate did not spare Al Satri and her family.

“It happened last November. We were in our house next to the Red Crescent in Khan Younis, when suddenly the Israeli army bombed the complex where we lived. The ten buildings collapsed and we found ourselves under the rubble.” 

Al Satri was lucky. Along with her father and four of her brothers, she was pulled out and despite their injuries, they survived. Her mother, along with three brothers and the entire family of her uncle, were all gone.

Soon after, Al Satri and what remained of her family were displaced to Rafah in the south of Gaza. Due to the severe injuries of one of her brothers – Mohammed – they were allowed to cross the border into Egypt, leaving behind their father. But the moment they got there, Mohammed passed away. Al Satri was left with her four younger siblings.

Al Satri doesn’t work as her status in Egypt doesn’t allow her to do so. She lives in an unfurnished apartment and relies on external aid distributed by agencies. With the money she gets, she supports her four siblings, and she says she needs to be strong for them.

“Let’s be honest, I do not have the strength or will to move forward, but I am forced to live so that my young brothers can live, as they need me and I cannot leave them alone. Sometimes I wish for death, especially now, when I live in a foreign state, where nobody cares about me,” she lamented. 

Al Satri is fed up with pretty much everyone involved, directly or indirectly, in this conflict. She blames Israel for the “crimes it committed against civilians, who have nothing to do with Hamas.” She blamed ordinary Israelis for electing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Arab nations that sit idly by, watching how Gazans are “being massacred.”

And, most importantly, she points the finger of blame at Hamas and its ultimate leader, Yahiya Sinwar.

“I blame Hamas because it initiated the war that was not in our interest but in order to implement Iranian agendas, and I blame Sinwar because he is a war criminal like Netanyahu,” she said, adding that he hides behind ordinary civilians to promote his goals. 

Throughout the war, Sinwar and Hamas have been condemned, by Israel and some Palestinians, for hiding in tunnels while exposing women, children, and the elderly to the brutality of Israeli strikes.

One year on, that reality hasn’t changed. Civilians continue to die, Hamas refuses to release the 101 hostages still being kept in Gaza, and Al Satri says this vicious cycle will never stop.

“How can it stop?” Al Satri asked. “Israel, with its crimes and killing of civilians, has created an entire generation of children who hate it. This orphaned generation will grow up one day, and loaded with hatred and revenge, it will carry out another October 7… not for Iran or the corrupt Hamas. This time they will do it to avenge the spilt blood of their families. And there is no end in sight.”