The latest episode of PalCast featured Gaza writer, journalist, and translator Nour Abo Aisha, who spoke from Gaza City as it remained under siege. Nour described how her writing had always centred on memory, displacement, and survival, drawn both from her own life and from the stories of those around her. She explained that for her, writing had been a form of resistance against erasure, a way to break through the silence forced on Palestinians. Her work had already appeared in publications such as The Guardian, Prism Reports, Mondoweiss, and Al Jazeera Net, and she was also a member of We Are Not Numbers.
In this episode, hosted by Yousef and Tony, Nour shared her firsthand account of what it meant to live under siege. She described the catastrophic situation in her neighbourhood of Shaikh Radwan in western Gaza City, where most of her neighbours had fled to the south. Her family, however, refused to leave, holding on to their land despite Israel’s evacuation orders. Nour recalled the chilling atmosphere created by constant airstrikes, the sounds of bombing, and the deep uncertainty over what the next day would bring.
Nour explained how Israel used psychological warfare to force people southward, from dropping leaflets and incendiary bombs to using loudspeakers that promised food and tents. She stressed that there was no safe place in Gaza, noting that her relatives who evacuated had also been killed. Before October 2023, Nour had been a university student studying English literature and working as a translator and content writer. Since then, her studies and work had been cut short, her social life erased, and she endured the loss of both friends and family, including her cousin and her aunt.
Nour’s account revealed how her daily life had become centred on survival—finding water, carrying it upstairs, and worrying about food. She recalled earlier traumas, including surviving an airstrike in 2020 that killed her students while she volunteered as a teacher. She admitted her desire to leave Gaza, believing she could no longer endure the conditions, yet she felt compelled to share her story despite the pain. This powerful conversation is now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, offering listeners a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the realities of life under siege in Gaza.