TEHRAN - May 15, 2025, marks the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, a catastrophe that forcibly uprooted over 750,000 Palestinians and erased more than 500 villages in 1948. However, this tragedy is not limited to the past; it continues to reverberate in the present, particularly in Gaza. 

Gaza is now a living example of ongoing ethnic cleansing and colonial expansion due to the heightened siege, widespread displacement, and unrelenting violence that echoes the trauma of the original Nakba. 

The world must face a sobering moral reality as international warnings about a "second Nakba" intensify: the Nakba is an open wound that continues to bleed every day due to the silence and cooperation of world powers.

The catastrophe of displacement and loss

The Nakba began in 1948 with the establishment of the regime of Israel by a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. Zionist militias, later supported by the Israeli military, forcibly expelled Palestinians from their homes through massacres, destruction of villages, and psychological terror.

Palestinian homes were destroyed or repopulated by Jewish settlers, and biological warfare tactics such as poisoning wells were employed to ensure Palestinians could not return.

In addition to being a historical occurrence, the Nakba is seen by Palestinians as the defining trauma that shaped their sense of national identity and political ambitions.

It led to family separation, the loss of one's homeland, and a generation-long refugee crisis. Palestinian testimonies and independent historians have long contested Israeli narratives that minimize or deny these events, portraying them as an essential component of statehood.

Gaza today: The Nakba’s unfolding tragedy

The Nakba’s legacy is painfully alive in Gaza, where 2.3 million Palestinians are enduring one of the bloodiest tragedies and most severe humanitarian crises in today’s world. Since October 2023, Gaza has been facing ethnic cleansing.

Israel has also prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine, and fuel, to the besieged enclave since March 2, 2025.

The blockade has caused catastrophic hunger, malnutrition, and a collapse of health services. According to the World Health Organization, nearly half a million people in Gaza face acute malnutrition, with children dying daily from starvation and preventable diseases.

Recent Israeli military operations have displaced over 450,000 Palestinians within Gaza, echoing the original Nakba’s forced expulsions.

The United Nations has warned that the world is witnessing “another Nakba” as Israel pursues “wider colonial expansion” through ethnic cleansing and land confiscation. The destruction of civilian infrastructure, including UN shelters, and the targeting of medical and aid workers, compounds the suffering and violates international law.

 Voices from the Nakba: Memories of loss and enduring hope

The testimonies of Nakba survivors offer a deeply human and poignant window into an ongoing catastrophe that transcends time, connecting the trauma of 1948 to the present-day horrors in Gaza.

Hakma Atallah, now 105, vividly recalls the day her village was attacked, forcing her family to flee with only the clothes on their backs and the keys to their home, symbols of a return that never came. Despite the immense loss, Hakma’s story, shared with UNRWA, embodies a resilient hope for justice and the right of return, a hope that sustains Palestinians across generations.

Similarly, Abdul Rahman Yassin, who was eight years old during the Nakba, recounts the beauty of his childhood in the village of Al-Joura before displacement shattered his world. He has lived through every chapter of Palestinian suffering, from the Nakba to the 1967 occupation, the Intifadas, and multiple wars on Gaza.

His family has endured massacres, the loss of sons, and the destruction of homes. Yet, his testimony is not only one of pain but of steadfast endurance, underscoring how the Nakba’s trauma is not confined to history but is continuously inflicted upon Palestinians today.

Fatima Khamees Alyaan Abu-Shammala’s memories bring the Nakba’s human cost into sharp relief. At 14, she fled her lush village of Beit Dras, walking for 20 days to reach the Khan Younis refugee camp, where she lived in a tent with her family for three years.

She recalls the sound of gunfire, the hunger, and the loss of loved ones, feelings that have been painfully resurrected by the ongoing bombardments in Gaza. Her story is a haunting reminder that for Palestinians, the Nakba is not a distant memory but a recurring nightmare.

These narratives reveal the cyclical nature of Palestinian suffering, the relentless repetition of dispossession, violence, and exile. Yet, they also highlight an unyielding determination to resist erasure. Survivors like Ramadan Emad, who fought alongside Arab armies in 1948, now see themselves defending Gaza alone but remain hopeful for liberation and return.

Their memories are living testimonies that bridge past and present, demanding recognition, justice, and fulfilling the Palestinian right of return.

The psychological scars borne by these survivors are profound, yet their voices refuse to be silenced. They expose the ongoing ethnic cleansing and colonial policies that continue to inflict trauma on Palestinians.

Through their stories, the Nakba emerges not as a closed chapter but as a continuous wound, one that the world must acknowledge if there is to be any hope for peace and justice.

The open wound of Palestine

As the world commemorates the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, Palestine's open wound is still incredibly raw and unhealed.

The Nakba is a reality that continues to influence Palestinian identity, life, and struggle rather than a remote historical event.

The 1948 dispossession is directly reflected in Gaza's current tragedy, which is characterized by ceaseless bombardment, the forced relocation of almost more than two million people, and a crippling siege that denies necessities.

The truth of the Nakba is preserved by the memories of survivors who relive past and present traumas, calling for justice and the right to return. However, the world community's inaction and silence in the face of these crimes constitute a serious ethical breakdown. 

With Gaza serving as its living example, the question now is whether the international community will stop its silence and respect international law or permit the Nakba to continue on a daily basis.