Tarek Chouiref
15 May 2026•Update: 15 May 2026
Dozens of Palestinian women at a displacement camp in central Gaza marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) on Thursday, reliving scenes of displacement and loss they said continue to define Palestinian life decades after 1948.
Held at the Refaat Alareer camp in the Al-Zawaida area, the event linked memories of the historic Palestinian displacement with the reality of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, as participants said the suffering of exile and forced displacement had never truly ended.
The event was organized by the Sameer Project, a relief initiative led by Palestinians in the diaspora, and featured heritage performances, traditional dabke dancing and symbolic scenes highlighting Palestinian identity and the right of return.
Women and children raised Palestinian flags, symbolic keys, and images reflecting displacement and attachment to the land. Several participants wore traditional Palestinian dresses and chanted songs and national hymns invoking Palestinian memory and what they described as an ongoing Nakba.
Palestinians commemorate the Nakba every year on May 15 through marches, exhibitions and public events in the Palestinian territories and around the world, calling for rights, including the return of millions of refugees.
The Nakba refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948 during the events surrounding the creation of Israel, when hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were emptied and their residents forced to flee.
Reliving displacement
Ibtisam Abu Muailiq, a displaced Palestinian now living in Al-Zawaida, said Palestinians are still living through the Nakba today.
The current war, she told Anadolu, had brought back scenes of displacement and tent life that previous generations described after the events of 1948.
“Our home was destroyed, and we lost loved ones, some killed and others still missing, but we remain steadfast on the land of Palestine,” she said.
She called on people around the world to show compassion toward Palestinians and support them amid their suffering.
For Umm Mohammed Abdullah, the Nakba never ended.
Palestinians, she said, have endured repeated cycles of hunger, thirst, displacement and loss but continue to hold on to their land.
“No matter how severe the suffering becomes, we will not leave our homeland,” she added.
Steadfast despite war
Event coordinator Iman Al-Khatib said holding the event inside a displacement camp carried a message that Palestinians remain steadfast despite wars and catastrophes.
“We wanted to tell the world that Palestinians remain resilient and that the right of return will continue to live in the conscience of future generations,” she told Anadolu.
The Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 172,000 in a two-year war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, the Israeli army has continued its attacks, killing at least 856 people and injuring 2,463 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
*Writing by Tarek Chouiref
