Israeli Airstrikes Turn the District of Al-Zahra into Piles of Rubble
(AWP) - A resident of al-Zahra municipality in central Gaza, Mohammed al-Ajrami, mourns the area where he grew up and made his childhood memories after intense Israeli bombing turned it into piles of rubble.
The buzzing noise of the Israeli planes continues to hover above the area as al-Ajrami wanders through what was a vibrant neighbourhood a few days ago.
Al-Zahra was characterised by its dozens of residential tower blocks. There is no official estimate of the number of towers destroyed by the bombing, but al-Ajrami said that "the number of towers that were targeted that night alone is 32, excluding the towers that are being bombed during this period."
Al-Ajrami also says that al-Zahra was considered an upscale and safe neighbourhood that had never been targeted in previous conflicts in Gaza, until this recent escalation when its residents were surprised by Israeli warnings to evacuate.
"After 12 hours of bombing and while we were in the streets, we returned and found the city like this, as you can see," al-Ajrami said.
"Since the war started, about 20 or 30 thousand people have been displaced from here," he added. Al-Ajrami said that the Israeli raids levelled 12 towers to the ground over one evening.
He believes that Israel is deploying an intentional policy of displacement through such destruction of his neighbourhood. "All our childhood and memories are here. This city we were living in since we were kids until we became young men. In one day and one night like this, it was gone."