Survivors Launch ‘Gaza: Living Story’ as Reconstruction Talks Sideline Palestinian Voices

Palestinians are taking the lead in shaping their own future with the launch today of Gaza: Living Story — a Palestinian-led visioning campaign that puts survivors and the diaspora at the centre of defining Gaza’s past, present, and future. The launch comes as international powers convene reconstruction summits with little to no Palestinian participation.

Created by Muslim Aid and Yalla Co-operative, a worker-owned co-op with members in Gaza and the diaspora, the campaign gives Palestinians in Gaza and the diaspora the power to document memories, experiences, and visions for recovery — ensuring their voices, not outside actors, shape how Gaza’s future is imagined. The campaign officially launches today at gazalivingstory.org.

A hybrid launch event is taking place in London, with contributions from Living Story participants in Gaza and abroad, alongside organisational representatives.

For more than two decades, Muslim Aid has worked across Palestine, saving over 100,000 lives in Gaza in the past two years alone. Two years on from the escalation in hostilities — and following the UN’s determination that Israel has committed genocide — imposed reconstruction and depopulation plans are being advanced without Palestinian consultation, including the U.S. President’s twenty-point “Gaza Plan.” Gaza: Living Story offers a direct counter-narrative: a vision led by Palestinians in Gaza and the diaspora, rooted in lived experience.

Voices from Gaza

Nour, a Living Story contributor from Gaza, highlights the overlooked impact on places of worship and other communal spaces:

“A picture of a random outing with my brothers and I [see photo in asset drive]. This place was only for Eid prayers, then we were surprised that it also remained a gathering and an entertainment place for children. We sat there for some time and many children were playing here even late at night, because the electricity was on all the time and the streets were full of people and decorations. The place is full of tents, we can’t pass through it, and the children are scared. No one goes out to play like before. We are afraid of the night, and there are no lights in the streets.”

Nour also shares a vision for the future:

“I hope we can be able to do prayers in the mosque and see people going to it without fear and without hearing, ‘Pray in your homes.’ I hope to see the decorations of Ramadan next year in peace.”

Another contributor, Insherah, highlights the devastating impact on education and university life, and the hope she holds for Gaza’s students and institutions:

“The photo is from 2022 [see photo in asset drive], after I finished my first professional experience immediately after graduating as a teaching assistant at Al-Azhar University. The students gave me a gift with a small surprise celebration on the last day of the school year. The university buildings were targeted and many of the students I was in contact with were martyred, and the rest of them are trying in every possible way to continue their education. I hope the university will develop its buildings and every student will be able to continue their education and university life.”

Israa Ahmed, a developer at Yalla Co-operative and currently based in Gaza, said:

“The first time I ran the project, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I zoomed in on the places where my children played, where my family lived, and my partner’s home, then started reading the stories connected to those places I know so well. Seeing the map transform from past to present filled me with deep and complex emotions. This work is deeply personal, and it reflects my purpose as a Palestinian. I feel proud to have built it and to be doing something for Palestinians in Gaza. For me, it represents resilience and resistance. I want everyone to see it, to understand what Gaza was and what it can be, not only how others choose to imagine it.”

Lina Ayesh, Director of Operations at Yalla Co-operative, said:

“As a Palestinian from Gaza, I was shaped by its streets, its corners, its schools, its workplaces, and its people. Now I fear that the memories tied to these places could vanish in a moment. When I search for images to show Gaza’s beauty, I can barely find any that reflect what I remember. This project matters to me because it brings those memories back, documents our grief, and carries our hope that one day we will see Gaza rebuilt again, not just as it was, but as Palestinians dream it to be for our generation and the ones to come.”

Joe Friel, co-founder of Yalla Co-operative, said:

“When we set up Yalla almost seven years ago with my late co-founder Ramy in Gaza, it was out of a simple belief: that Palestinians should have the agency to build their own future. At a time when external powers are manufacturing visions of Gaza’s future that erase its people – turning trauma into beachfront real estate and history into a blank slate – Living Story asserts something radically different: a future rooted in memory, dignity, and the voices of those who belong to the land. Too often Gaza has been spoken about without the voices of Gazans themselves. Gaza: A Living Story is a response to that. We want to ensure that no one can speak about Palestinians without hearing directly from them.”

Khalid Javid, CEO of Muslim Aid, said:

“Gaza stands at a critical moment and it is vital that Palestinians are at the centre of decisions about their homes and communities. Gaza: Living Story gives survivors a space to share their experiences and shape the future. Their voices must guide recovery, not outside agendas.”