PalCast released a new episode featuring Hussam Tannera, an English language teacher, translator, and father speaking from Gaza City. Hosted by Yousuf in Sakarya, Turkey, and Tony in Dublin, Ireland, the conversation offered a rare and personal window into daily life inside Gaza since October 7, 2023. Hussam described how streets he once knew had become unrecognizable, paved over by rubble and dust, and how a city he could once cross in under fifteen minutes had been transformed into something closer to a wasteland.
The episode moved through some of the starkest realities of life under siege, including the weaponization of hunger. Hussam recounted how basic staples like canned fava beans soared to prices that far exceeded what any family without income could afford, and how he walked the streets daily just to find food for his wife and children. He shared how his family improvised, turning corned beef into something resembling lasagna, roasting chickpeas as a substitute for unaffordable coffee, and splitting a single chicken among fifteen or sixteen people, an occasion he remembered as both joyful and quietly heartbreaking.
Despite everything, Hussam’s account was also one of resourcefulness and resilience. He described launching a small coffee brand, “Hussam’s Coffee,” roasting and grinding green beans and selling them from a table on the street, until a bombing reduced his equipment and supplies to ash. As a father, he spoke about the lengths he and his wife went to in order to shield their children from the full weight of what was happening around them, making toys, going for walks, and playing alongside their children to keep fear at bay. He closed with a note of determined optimism, sharing that he was actively applying for scholarships and expressing his belief that things would, in time, get better.
This is exactly the kind of conversation that deserves to be heard widely. Please share the episode with your networks and keep up the pressure on those who have the power to end the violence. Find the full episode now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.