In this address at the 2025 UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Palestinian poet and writer Mosab Abu Toha speaks as a survivor and witness. He recounts his family’s history of displacement from Yaffa, his birth in a refugee camp, his abduction and torture, and the loss of loved ones to Israeli airstrikes. He rejects symbolic language in favor of action, saying, “Humanitarian aid, food, medicine, shelter, should not require a UN resolution,” and insists that “ending the suffering of a besieged population should never be conditional or negotiable.” He calls for an end to occupation, accountability for war crimes, reparations, and protection for Palestinians, stressing that what is needed is not another peace plan but “a justice plan.” Abu Toha then turns to poetry, reading excerpts that capture childhood dreams, loss, and life “under the rubble” in Gaza. His words document bodies unrecovered, homes destroyed, and children growing up amid bombardment, asking repeatedly, “Where should people go?” The reading closes with reflections on memory, grief, and survival, as he describes a place where even souls, like bodies, remain trapped beneath the ruins.
