“We are not numbers.”

That’s what Diaa Ostaz, a reporter in Gaza for ONE Magazine — the official publication of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association — and for ABC News, said earlier this month during a Zoom recording from the territory.

Ostaz, 26, was speaking about the many who have died in Gaza since October, 2023. According to the United Nations, that’s over 73,000 people killed and more than 173,000 injured since that time. At least 20,000 of the dead are children, with more than 44,000 injured.

The numbers of killed and injured in Gaza are staggering, but people there are not statistics, Ostaz said.

“We are human beings and we love life. We love to sing, dance and laugh. We love to work, progress and achieve our goals. We laugh a lot and we cry a lot. We are not just images you see on social media and in news broadcasts. We are real. We are not monsters as some people think, or criminals. What happened in the October 7th attack does not represent the beliefs of an entire civilian population … we are looking for peace.”

I was among a small group of journalists who heard Ostaz share last week from Gaza. His presentation was organized by Canadian Catholic News, a national collaborative that publishes news and opinion for the Canadian Catholic community.

During the Zoom, Ostaz said the danger and the suffering in Gaza has affected him personally. His fiancée was killed early in the war in an Israeli attack and he was injured in another attack. All told, he has escaped death or serious injury nine times while working as a reporter in Gaza.

After being injured in a strike early in the war, he decided to give up journalism; it was too dangerous for reporters.

But he went back to reporting after two months. For him, it was a way to keep busy and be useful by telling the stories of ordinary people in Gaza who are suffering due to the conflict.

“I wanted to go beyond the numbers, to focus on their humanity,” he said.

That includes telling the stories of people like Mozayal Hassuna, one of many people he interviewed for ONE Magazine.

“I can’t provide a small loaf for the children to eat,” she said, noting her family had been displaced by the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

“Does anyone care?” asked Remas al-Kafarna, 16. “If we die, their lives go on. This world is a pit of hypocrisy. Humanity gave up its last breath here.”

Bassam Nasser was also displaced. “It’s all rubble. Where should we live?” he asked. “We are humans, educated and intelligent people,” he added. “This shouldn’t be our life. Just a little bit of justice. That’s all we ask.”

Khalil Hassanin’s family was bombed out of their home: “The world is sleeping, people need someone to wake them up,” he told Ostaz, expressing despair about feeling forgotten by the world. “Only God will stand with us.”

There was a time when Ostaz also felt deep despair over conditions in Gaza. “It was a bad period of my life. I was facing constant death and hunger,” he said.

But, he added, “giving in to despair will hinder progress and weaken the body. So I always try to convince myself that everything will be alright, just so I can continue working, earning my daily bread and moving forward in my life.”

What also helps Ostaz, who is Muslim, is his faith. He finds it to be a source of comfort and inspiration. It also helps him as a journalist.

“I can find God in every story,” he said. “God is the heart of everyone here, Muslim or Christian. I see God despite the struggles. God is walking the streets of Gaza.”

Ostaz is now married and he and his wife are expecting their first child in four months — something that gives him hope and joy.

But life is still hard; he looks forward to a time when Gazans can once again experience normal life.

“I dream of one hour, a moment I can walk peacefully with my wife in the street, or sleep without being disturbed by drones and hearing the sounds of shell explosions,” he said.

“I wish to laugh from my heart. The war has taken everything from us, even our happy memories.”

One thing that keeps him going is his faith.

“After living through years of intense war, amidst loss, hunger and bombardment, it’s easy for one’s heart to become numb,” he said. “It’s different for me. I faced numerous situations where I encountered certain death and this strengthened my belief that God protects. I feel a direct relationship: the worse things get, the stronger my faith in God’s plan becomes … everything in my life is from God.”

Jdl562000@yahoo.com

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