Palestinian Writer’s Account of Gaza’s ‘Hell’: I Wrote to Prevent Erasure by the Monsters
In the midst of Gaza’s devastation, where entire neighborhoods have vanished and the international community remains largely silent, young Palestinian writer Waseem Saeed has emerged as one of the clearest voices documenting genocide as it unfolds.
His book, A Witness to the Hellfire of Genocide, is not a mere memoir of survival but a moment-by-moment testimony writen amid bombings, hunger, and repeated displacements.
Saeed began writing His Journey Through Hell after the January 2025 ceasefire when he briefly returned to his shattered hometown of Beit Hanoun. However, he was soon forced to flee again.
In this interview with Tehran Times, Saeed discusses writing under fire, resisting erasure, and preserving truth for future generations.Below is the full conversation with this young Palestinian author:
What compelled you to write your testimony during an ongoing genocide rather then afterward?
I started writing after the January 2025 ceasefire when I returned to Beit Hanoun in northeastern gaza. I wanted to narrate my journey through hell; I believed the war would end and that eventually I’d return home-even if it had turned into rubble or bulldozers had leveled our land. But its air, soil-there are things words cannot describe.
I wanted to convey how my soul suddenly found peace there; how my tears soaked over my home’s ruins and earth; and how seeing my grandfather kiss the land deeply affected me.
But just as I began writing again-it was during an even more ruthless resurgence of genocide-and I was forced to flee once more. The only reason I kept writing was to leave a legacy so monsters could not erase me.
How did you manage to keep writing amid constant threats of death, starvation, and bombardment?
writing was tremendously arduous. But what frightened me most-and drove me forward-was fear itself: being killed and erased wholly; becoming just a number forgotten along with all pain.
Your book reveals both resilience and moral fabric within besieged Gaza society. How do you see solidarity’s role in cultural resistance sustaining this community?
The moral fabric in Gaza has cracked under relentless genocide, hunger, and repeated displacement. However, I believe history will remember our people as among its greatest-those who endured tremendous suffering by supporting each other while showing unparalleled patience against one of history’s cruelest armies.
But regarding “resilience,” what scares me is romanticizing resistance. The reality remains devastating on every level. Today-after what they call a ”ceasefire”-I still cannot return to my utterly destroyed city. A few days ago rain ruined my tent completely. All I hope now is for this hell to end soon.
You hope your real-time record impacts global readers or international response – how so?
I hope truth reaches across the world-to become recorded history preserved for future generations-with potential power to shift awareness about ongoing palestinian suffering.
Please share any profoundly moving story from your experience embodying hope or resistance spirit?
Numerous stories exist about solidarity: compassion shown by sharing handfuls of flour amidst famine conditions stands out greatly among them-as mentioned before-my community truly amazes me.
Yet highlighting such stories risks romanticizing endurance to much-they may mislead audiences into thinking we are merely “coping” here-which can numb any ethical or humanitarian urgency against this genocide entirely.
Your message for global society-including those silent or complicit regarding these crimes?
My message is straightforward: This is reality-the monstrous acts committed against us by these villains.
Those who remain silent or partake will not be forgotten by history.
They will be remembered as accomplices in 21st century’s greatest genocide.
Future generations will condemn them vehemently.
Has your book been published internationally? What feedback have you received from readers or publishers?
my book has been published in Arabic and English editions already-with Italian,
Spanish,
and Greek translations forthcoming.
It currently circulates throughout Arab countries,
Europe,
and the United States.
All
my hopes rest on having both my voice-and those
of my people-
reach wider audiences:
our genocide,
our blood,
our children starving,
our mothers’ tears
and stories honoring martyrs slaughtered by monsters.
I pray all these truths reach ears worldwide-to record these monstrous crimes authentically thereafter preserving lessons for posterity so they never recur.
