TEHRAN- In the midst of Gaza’s devastation, where entire neighborhoods have vanished and the international community largely remains silent, young Palestinian writer Wasim Said has emerged as one of the clearest voices documenting a genocide as it unfolds. 

His book, Witness to the Hellfire of Genocide, is not a memoir of survival but a real-time testament written between bombardments, hunger, and repeated displacement. 

Returning briefly to his destroyed hometown of Beit Hanoun after the January 2025 ceasefire, he began recording what he calls his “journey through hell,” only to be forced to flee once more. 

In this interview, Said speaks to the Tehran Times about writing under fire, resisting erasure, and preserving truth for future generations.

This is the text of the interview: 

What compelled you to start writing this testimony amidst an ongoing genocide rather than after surviving it?

I began writing after the ceasefire in January 2025, when I returned to my hometown of Beit Hanoun in the far northeast of the Gaza Strip. I started writing to recount my journey through hell, imagining the war would end and that I would finally return to Beit Hanoun and to my home—even though it had been reduced to rubble, even though our land had been bulldozed. But its air and its soil are things words cannot describe.

I wanted to describe how my soul suddenly felt at peace there, how my tears soaked the ruins of my home, the sight of its soil, and my grandfather kissing it.But as soon as I began writing, the genocide returned, and I was forced to flee once again—this time even more brutally.

The only reason I kept writing was to leave behind a will, in case the monsters killed me.

How did you manage to keep writing through the constant threat of death, hunger, and bombardment?

Writing was extremely, extremely difficult. But the thing that terrified me the most—and pushed me to write despite everything—was my fear of being killed and erased, of being remembered as just a number, forgotten along with my suffering.

Your book conveys resilience and the moral structure of Gaza society under siege. How do you see the role of solidarity and cultural resistance in the survival of your community?

The moral fabric of Gaza’s society has been shaken by genocide, starvation, and continuous displacement. It has cracked. Yet despite all this, I believe our society will be remembered in history as one of the greatest peoples—one that endured, supported one another, and showed unmatched patience in the face of the most vicious and criminal army, while being abandoned by everyone.

But when it comes to “steadfastness,” what scares me most is the romanticization of resilience. The situation is catastrophic in every sense of the word. Here I am today—after what they call a “ceasefire”—still unable to return to my city, which is completely destroyed. Yesterday, the rains flooded my tent and ruined it. I can only hope this hell ends soon.

How do you hope your real-time documentation of genocide will impact readers worldwide and influence the international response?

I hope the truth reaches the world and becomes part of recorded history—preserved for future generations—so that perhaps it can change the suffering that Palestinians continue to endure.

Can you share a particularly poignant story from your experiences that embodies the spirit of hope and resistance despite the horrors?

There are countless stories of solidarity, compassion, and mutual support—of people sharing a handful of flour with others at the height of famine. As I told you, my community is truly remarkable.
But I believe that highlighting these stories can sometimes contribute to the romanticization of resilience. It can create a comforting illusion for the audience that we are coping with this hell, numbing them from taking any moral or humanitarian action against this genocide.

What message would you send to the international community and those who remain silent or complicit in the face of these ongoing atrocities?

My message to the world is: this is the truth. This is what the monsters have done to us.

And to those who remained silent or complicit—history will not forget. It will remember them as participants in the largest genocide of the 21st century. Their future generations will curse them.

In how many countries has your book been distributed so far? Have you received any feedback from readers or representatives of the book?

The book is available in Arabic and English, and it will soon be available in Italian, Spanish, and Greek.

It can be found in Arab countries, Europe, and the United States.

All I hope is that my voice and the voice of my people reaches the world: our genocide, our blood, the hunger of our children, the tears of our mothers, the stories of our martyrs killed by the monsters.

I hope all of this reaches everyone—so the world knows the truth about these monsters and their crimes, and so it is preserved for future generations to ensure this never happens again.

(For more information about the book Witness to the Hellfire of Genocide, visit the publisher’s page:)

https://1804books.com/products/witness-to-the-hellfire-of-genocide?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcAOWhKNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAaf7PrQj__dvxt3V1k6aSR7OS3MdZyfsz_4pLTRkKzsMtrPAQ5kUHQMjz1MepA_aem_V1yxQ_hPnBWPHyeP0EaLI