Gaza’s Displaced Residents Tell of Fear and Abandonment

This picture taken on November 12, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows a smoke plume erupting during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles. (AFP)
This picture taken on November 12, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows a smoke plume erupting during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles. (AFP)
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Gaza’s Displaced Residents Tell of Fear and Abandonment

This picture taken on November 12, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows a smoke plume erupting during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles. (AFP)
This picture taken on November 12, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows a smoke plume erupting during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles. (AFP)

On foot, by horse-drawn cart and clinging to the sides of overcrowded trucks, Palestinians on Sunday fled southwards through Gaza to escape Israeli air strikes, telling of their fear, despair and bitter sense of abandonment.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza. My son was injured and there was not a single hospital I could take him to so he could get stitches," said displaced Palestinian Ahmed al-Kahlout. "There is no water, there isn’t even salt water we can wash our hands with."

He had been forced to leave his home to search for basic necessities for his family while "there are bodies filling Gaza's streets".

There are still people hoping the conflict will be solved soon, he said.

"But only God knows if it’ll be solved. The whole world has let us down, the progressive world that boasts about human rights has let us down."

Also heading south, a Palestinian woman, Mariam al-Borno, said death, displacement and hunger had forced her and her children to leave home "to flee for our lives."

"We saw death with our own eyes. Throughout it all we were afraid."

People at a United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) school in Beit Lahia, where they had sought shelter, were looking at a crater left by an explosion.

"Even at UNRWA shelters we can't find safety," said one man.

"I'm just searching for a safe place, nothing more, to save myself and my children," he said.

Outside Gaza's largest hospital, Al Shifa, entertainer Alaa Miqdad gathered displaced children and put on a clown show.

"Despite the pain we are living in and the hurt, we will smile through the pain," he said.

But Ismail al-Najjar, whose family's residential compound in Khan Younis in the south was hit by an air strike, was less sanguine.

"I was coming with my horse, I stopped the horse, the aircraft came and fired something ... there was bombardment everywhere."

"It is not just destruction; it is an earthquake ... I ask God to take vengeance on the killers of children," he said.



What We Know About Hezbollah’s Shura Council

Lebanese in Beirut watch Naim Qassem deliver a speech. (Reuters)
Lebanese in Beirut watch Naim Qassem deliver a speech. (Reuters)
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What We Know About Hezbollah’s Shura Council

Lebanese in Beirut watch Naim Qassem deliver a speech. (Reuters)
Lebanese in Beirut watch Naim Qassem deliver a speech. (Reuters)

If it is confirmed that Hezbollah’s Shura Council has met and elected Sheikh Naim Qassem as the party’s new secretary-general, this would indicate two important developments, according to sources close to the group.

First, it shows that Hezbollah has restructured and revitalized itself after facing major setbacks, as it can now hold meetings with senior leaders despite significant security risks.

Second, it counters rumors that Tehran controls the party’s political and military leadership since the assassination of secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah last month.

Hezbollah’s organizational structure includes several councils: the Shura Council, Jihad Council, Executive Council, Political Council, Governmental and Parliamentary Work Council, and Judiciary Council.

The Shura Council is the most critical, as it leads the party.

It is made up of seven members, including the secretary-general, who is also its head—now Qassem.

Other members include Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, head of the Judiciary Council; Sheikh Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyid, head of the Political Council; Hashem Safieddine, the recently assassinated head of the Executive Council and presumed Nasrallah successor; Hussein Khalil, the political assistant to the secretary-general; and Mohammad Raad, head of the Parliamentary Council and leader of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc in the Lebanese Parliament.

With the appointment of a new secretary-general, two positions on Hezbollah’s Shura Council remain unfilled: the deputy secretary-general and the head of the Executive Council.

Political analyst Dr. Qassem Qassir, who closely monitors the group, points out that a deputy has yet to be named. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the appointment of a secretary-general is significant, sending a message that Hezbollah is strong and in control of its affairs.

“It is incorrect to say that Iran is running it,” he added.

Qassir believes the remaining council positions will be filled soon.

Other sources indicate that even if a deputy is appointed, their identity may not be disclosed right away.

This is because, like Qassem, they would become a key target for Israel, which aims to keep Hezbollah leaderless.

Hezbollah’s organizational structure comprises three main components. First, the secretary-general acts as the leader, holding significant regulatory authority.

Second, the Shura Council oversees four key councils: the Jihad Council, the Judiciary Council, the Parliamentary Work Council, and the Political Council.

Third, the Executive Council serves as the organizational core, functioning like a government and coordinating various operational units.