In an interview with The Electronic Intifada, Asem al-Nabih, an engineer and spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality, provides a harrowing first-hand account of life under genocide in Gaza. He details the catastrophic consequences of Israel's fuel blockade, explaining how it cripples essential services like water pumping, sewage treatment, and waste collection, leading to a severe public health and environmental crisis. Through powerful personal stories, such as the journey of a single date passed between family members, Nabih illustrates the profound love, resilience, and suffering of Palestinians. He reflects on the psychological toll of the constant threat of death and calls on the international community to move beyond passive observation towards a deeper, empathetic understanding that fosters meaningful action for an end to the genocide and for Palestinian liberation.
Life, Love, and Survival in Gaza: A First-Hand Account
00:02:12 The Devastating Fuel Blockade: Asem al-Nabih explains that the fuel blockade is one of the most devastating and least understood forms of collective punishment used by Israel, crippling the survival of over two million people in Gaza.
00:04:06 Fuel as "Blood for Civic Services": With the electricity supply cut off by Israel, Gaza is 100% reliant on fuel for all civic services. Without it, municipalities cannot pump water, treat sewage, or collect solid waste.
00:04:37 Widespread Infrastructure Destruction: Nabih, speaking as an engineer, reports that in Gaza City alone, Israel has destroyed 70% of water wells, damaged over 100,000 meters of water networks, and rendered 100% of sewage plants non-functional.
00:07:21 A Public Health Catastrophe: The lack of fuel has created a massive environmental and health crisis. A quarter-million tons of solid waste are piled up in Gaza City, and sewage floods the streets, leading to the spread of disease, particularly among children.
011:34 A Call for Deeper Understanding: To help people outside Gaza comprehend the suffering, Nabih shares a suggestion he made to his wife: to have their children (who are abroad) experience limited water usage to foster a true, empathetic understanding of scarcity that statistics alone cannot provide.
015:23 Imagination Must Lead to Action: He argues that this deeper, imaginative understanding is necessary to spur the bold and effective international action needed to end the genocide. He clarifies that his goal is not to induce guilt, but to inspire action.
017:03 A Glimpse into Daily Survival: Nabih describes his own daily reality of working for over 650 days without pay, eating plain rice for lunch, and having recently survived a nearby deadly airstrike. Despite this, he considers himself "lucky" compared to others.
021:18 The Story of a Single Date: He recounts the moving story of a single date he saved for six months. He gave it to his mother, who passed it to his sister Nesma, who in turn gave it to her two-year-old nephew, who lost his father in the war. The story symbolizes the deep love, sacrifice, and solidarity among Palestinians facing starvation.
030:16 The Scariest Part of Genocide: Nabih reveals that the most terrifying aspect is not the personal fear of death, but the knowledge that a government in the 21st century can kill civilians with impunity and that the world largely allows it to happen, normalizing the mass murder of children and starvation.
033:06 A Vow for Freedom: Quoting his late friend and mentor Dr. Refaat Alareer, Nabih states, "If I must die, let it bring hope." He adds that it must also bring resistance, revolution, freedom, and justice, because the people of Gaza are not dying for nothing.