ESSAY

Most people were asleep when Israel’s bombs made a three-storey-deep crater and started a large fire.

I’m Tala Herzallah, 22, from northern Gaza.

I’m currently displaced and staying in al-Mawasi. This is what I saw on September 10, the day of the explosion:

We were all asleep. Then suddenly, everything was turned upside down – the colour of the sky changed.

The explosion hit about 200 metres (about 220 yards) away.

The scene was like one of my nightmares, but it was real life.

The sound, … the huge damage the bombs caused, made us realise that these were meant for the largest buildings and not for tents made of the weakest materials in the world.

I saw two colours – red and grey. Everything turned grey [from the dust], and there were red flames everywhere.

The sky was filled with screams, crying and the sound of ambulances.

I avoided looking at the injured. I try to treat my mind like a recorder, and I’m trying not to record anything bad.

The night before, I was looking at the sky. It was full of stars. It was very romantic, I never imagined I would open my eyes to the complete opposite.

Now, we’re literally surrounded by death.

It’s hard to admit, but this is our daily life now.

We witness horrible things and then continue as if nothing has happened.

We all have this feeling that we only have a few days left to live. And that’s why we’re still trying and working hard.

Despite knowing I might die at any second, I’m trying to finish my last year at university. I’m doing my best to survive and to live.

I am with my mom and dad, but my siblings aren’t with me.

We’re trying to split up so that not all of us are gone in one second.

One is abroad, and two are here – one in Deir el-Balah and the other at Nuseirat camp.

Families are now being completely erased in one bomb. It’s so scary.

We want people to be able to tell our stories.

There’s no way they can get rid of all of us. This is our means of survival.