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<\/p>\nTaqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi is a 19-year-old writer and poet from Gaza. She is currently a second-year English literature student at the Islamic University of Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In Gaza,<\/span> new beginnings never come without a price. Displacement by Israeli bombing and ground invasion forces families to leave behind entire lives: a familiar corner of home, the smell of morning coffee, a notebook holding stories of interrupted lives. These losses are emotional, ripping away the daily artifacts that help remind people who they are.<\/p>\n They are also financial. The cost of Nozoh<\/em>, or displacement, often exceeds what families can afford<\/a>. Basic necessities become out of reach <\/a>\u2014 or the cost of leaving itself is too high.<\/p>\n When the Israeli military attacks residential areas in Gaza, the government\u2019s press operation highlights evacuation orders that it has issued in the places to be bombed. Western mainstream media outlets repeat these claims, perpetuating the simplistic idea that any civilian residents have had ample opportunity to flee. Even if that were always true, it would overlook the complications families face during Nozoh<\/em> \u2014\u00a0and how the financial burden can force them to stay in place, waiting for the shelling to start.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A rough breakdown of minimal expenses for a family relocating from northern Gaza to the south illustrates the scale of the challenge.<\/p>\n Transportation costs come to around 6,000 \u2013 8,000 shekels \u2014 about $1,800 \u2013 2,400 in U.S. dollars. A basic tent will cost 3,500 shekels. Food to survive the first few days will be 500 shekels or more. Renting an empty plot of land with no facilities will amount to 500 shekels. 1,500 shekels will be needed to set up a primitive bathroom. Nails, wood, or materials to build makeshift shelters will cost 500 shekels or more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Altogether, even the lowest estimate comes to a total of at least 10,000 shekels \u2014 approximately $3,000 \u2014 just to cover the initial phase of displacement. With Gaza\u2019s economy destroyed<\/a> by Israel\u2019s relentless genocide, leaving most people with little to no income, these costs are out of reach for many Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the genocide, life was simple,\u201d said my friend Sundus, a 20-year-old English translation student at the Islamic University of Gaza. She recalled her family home overlooking the sea, in the Shati neighborhood of Northern Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t need to go out because our house had the most beautiful sea view anyone could dream of,\u201d Sundus said. \u201cMy sisters and I would sit on the lower balcony, watching the waves. Hani and Aboud, my brother\u2019s children, would join us to play, filling the day with life.\u201d<\/p>\n Amid a rain of Israeli bombs in early November 2023, Hani and Aboud were trapped under the rubble after a round of shelling. At 5 and 7 years old, her brother\u2019s children were killed by Israeli missiles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sundus\u2019s family left for Al-Shifa on November 7. \u201cWe hardly had anything,\u201d she told me, \u201cjust a small mat, and it rained on our tent. On November 9, we heard Israeli forces were approaching Al-Shifa. We took what we could and went south. We walked 10 kilometers to Khan Younis, then moved to Rafah, living in tents all winter. Even after the ceasefire, returning home didn\u2019t bring comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n Sundus and her family returned to Shati earlier this year. <\/strong>\u201cEverything had been destroyed,\u201d Sundus said. \u201cOn September 13, 2025, our home was bombed again. We cleaned it, organized it, and stayed, because we couldn\u2019t afford to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n