What did Palestinians take when they fled after October 7?

Save Share Gaza Strip -When Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began after October 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes, many under forced displacement orders to move south. By September 27, 2026, at least 74,018 Palestinians had been killed and 175,079 injured in Gaza since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Some fled with nothing, leaving behind homes, belongings and memories. Others managed to grab just what they could not bear to leave behind: A book, a musical instrument, a toy, a pet or a keepsake. We asked people in Gaza what they took with them when they fled their homes after October 7 - and what stays with them after repeated displacements during the war. When Omar Abdel Hakim Hamad, 30, received a displacement order in Beit Hanoon, north of Gaza, at about midnight, he decided to stay a little longer despite the heavy bombardment. He wanted to collect what he could from his home, fearing he might never return. The first thing he thought of saving was his personal library of about 500 books. He managed to take about 200, prioritising old and rare books that he felt could not be replaced. Since leaving Beit Hanoon on October 30, 2023, Omar has been displaced 13 times, moving first to Gaza City and later south to the Maghazi refugee camp, where he remains displaced. For Omar, the books were more than possessions. “They are part of who I am,” he says, describing how his love of reading began at 15. Among the books he carried with him is a 1933 edition of Kalila wa Dimna. During the famine-like conditions that plagued Gaza for large parts of the war, he even considered exchanging his entire library for one or two kilogrammes of flour, but says he is grateful that he managed to keep most of it. Today, his Phoenix Library (at the centre of Gaza city) contains about 7,000 books, including about 3,000 rescued from libraries destroyed during the war and another 4,000 that were bought. When Shahd Abu Khosa, 30, left her home in Gaza’s al-Jalaa neighbourhood on October 16, 2023, she took her two dogs, Lily and Bobby, with her. Her displacement took her from al-Shifa Hospital to Tal al-Hawa south of Gaza City, then to a house and finally to a school shelter. The journey was difficult for both dogs, especially Lily, who was frightened by the sound of bombardment and would hide whenever shelling began. Bobby died of starvation after food became unavailable....