On October 4, 2025, the city of Atlanta became a focal point for global outrage and remembrance as hundreds of Atlantans gathered on the 17th Street Bridge near Atlantic Station. Their march through Midtown to the Israeli consulate was not just another protest—it marked two years since the beginning of what many demonstrators and organizers called Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. The mood was somber but resolute, with chants and banners underscoring a simple message: the fight for Palestinian freedom, and for justice in Gaza, is far from over.
“The two-year commemoration of the ongoing Israeli genocide reminds us of our responsibility to the people of Gaza—who have resisted, who have endured, who have suffered a total war of annihilation for over 700 days. We must reaffirm our commitment to resisting Zionism and U.S. imperialism,” declared Osama Mor, an organizer with Atlanta for Palestine, as reported by Atlanta Press Collective. His words echoed the anguish and determination of a movement that has seen the devastation in Gaza unfold day by day.
The numbers are staggering. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed approximately 67,160 Palestinians, though the true toll is hotly disputed. A study published in The Lancet in February 2025 suggested that the Palestinian Ministry of Health may have significantly undercounted deaths directly resulting from Israeli actions. Over the past two years, more than 94% of Gaza’s hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, over 12,000 Palestinians have been detained, and over 200 journalists have lost their lives. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 440 Palestinians have died of starvation, a direct consequence of Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid. Today, more than half of Gaza’s population faces famine.
In response to this humanitarian crisis, the Global Sumud Flotilla—an international fleet of supply ships—set sail in early October 2025, aiming to break the blockade and deliver desperately needed food, water, and resources to Gaza. The flotilla carried activists from 44 countries, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. However, Israeli forces intercepted all ships and detained about 450 activists in the Ketzoit prison, sparking a wave of global protests, boycotts, and strikes in solidarity with Palestine. Turkish journalist Ersin Celik reported that Israeli forces tortured Thunberg by making her crawl and kiss the Israeli flag before deporting her and 171 other activists. In a speech after her deportation, Thunberg redirected attention to Gaza: “And I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me, but that is not the story. What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population, an entire nation in front of our very eyes, they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”
On the ground in Gaza, the situation is even more harrowing. Nadra El-Tibi, a journalist reporting from within the strip, described a daily existence defined by displacement and loss. “It feels like time has frozen in pain. Two years of displacement, destruction and endless loss. Every day feels heavier than the last, as if the world never ends,” El-Tibi told Atlanta Press Collective. She has been displaced ten times since the conflict began, and her mother’s recent cancer diagnosis has brought new challenges. “The fact is that seeking treatment has become a nightmare. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Many services have collapsed, and sometimes we are told there’s nothing doctors can do. Survival feels like a miracle.” Even as she spoke, Israeli aircraft bombed nearby; El-Tibi paused to pray before continuing the interview.
The broader context of this tragedy is not lost on those who have lived through decades of conflict. Fahed AbuAkel, a Palestinian-Christian reverend in Atlanta and a survivor of the 1948 Nakba, recalled his own displacement as a child: “When I think about my experience with the Nakba, I immediately think about being a four-year-old kid. The thing that I still remember vividly is leaving our home with my dad, five sisters and two brothers.” AbuAkel’s memories are filled with pain and resilience, his mother’s decision to stay behind in their home a symbol of steadfastness. From 1947 to 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were expelled, 78% of Palestinian land was taken, 530 villages destroyed, and 15,000 Palestinians killed. Cheikh Niang, chair of the United Nations Palestinian Rights Committee, has argued that the Nakba and today’s events are part of a continuous process of displacement and ethnic cleansing.
Fast forward to October 2025, and the world’s attention has again turned to Gaza—not only through protests but also through high-level diplomacy. On October 13, Sharm el-Sheikh hosted a summit of global leaders including Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Pedro Sánchez. Their stated goal: to end the war in Gaza, enhance peace efforts, and usher in a new era of regional security. Yet, as The Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik observed, the summit’s language and intent may signal a desire to move forward without true accountability for Israel or its sponsors. “There is an Arabic expression, hameeha harameeha—meaning ‘its protector is its thief’—that comes to mind as those who have plied Israel with weaponry gather to figure out how to achieve peace in Gaza,” Malik wrote.
The aftermath in Gaza is almost unimaginable. Large parts of Gaza City have been flattened by bombs and bulldozers; returning residents find only wastelands where homes once stood. The sunlight, Malik notes, looks otherworldly—there are no buildings left to cast shadows. Thousands of orphans and wounded children survive without families. Entire family lineages, spanning multiple generations, have been wiped out. The social fabric of Gaza has been destroyed alongside its infrastructure, leaving survivors to grapple with trauma that is both personal and collective.
Malik warns that the death toll will likely rise as more bodies are recovered from the rubble. At least 10% of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured—a conservative estimate. The challenge now is not just about ending the violence, but about how the world will address the root causes and the immense task of reconstruction. “Peace in Gaza represents an opportunity to forget; to erase from the collective consciousness an era in which some western countries took a bludgeon to international norms and institutions... But many all over the world who have witnessed the massacre, and all that went into sustaining it for two whole years, will not so easily forget,” she wrote.
Even as the ceasefire takes tentative shape, the suffering on the ground continues. On October 3, after Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal, U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel to halt its bombardment. Yet Israeli strikes killed over 70 Palestinians the following day, according to Al Jazeera. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have since led to a deal involving the exchange of 20 Israeli hostages for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 17,000 detainees from Gaza, as well as the entry of around 600 aid trucks daily. “The situation on the ground remains dire regardless of any statement. Statements come and go, but people are still suffering every day,” El-Tibi remarked.
One undeniable shift is the growing international recognition of Palestine. Since October 2023, 20 countries—including France, the United Kingdom, and Portugal—have recognized Palestine as a sovereign nation, bringing the total to 157 UN member states. “The last two years in Gaza have put Palestine in a global arena in a way we never dreamed of since 1948!” AbuAkel said.
As world leaders deliberate in air-conditioned conference rooms and activists march in distant cities, the people of Gaza face the daunting task of rebuilding lives and communities from the ashes. Their suffering and resilience have forced the world to reckon with uncomfortable truths, and the question that now hangs over all efforts at peace is simple: after such knowledge, what forgiveness—and what future—can there be?