After a year of war in Gaza, Maha Odah doesn't know what to say anymore.
"I don't think there are words that haven't already been said to describe this ongoing genocide of Palestinians," Odah told KCUR's Up To Date. "Because I don't know how to compel or how to fit the pain of 2 million Palestinians, or Palestinians across the world, into a soundbite for you."
Hamas' surprise terrorist attacks on Israel a year ago resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of 250 others. It was the deadliest day in Israel's history.
Since then, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's military response in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Odah is an organizer with Al-Hadaf KC, and has family in Gaza. For Odah, being Palestinian in this moment means constantly feeling erased.
"A list of 20,000 names, Palestinian names, came out as killed by Israel — a list that in the children under 6 section, listed two of my cousins. The President of the United States undermined it and said it was the price of war, and I think that my existence as a Palestinian in itself is this form of resistance, because that's what it felt like, erasure. And my existence as a Palestinian is resistance, because you can't kill us all."
Among those who’ve died of starvation, dehydration, and lack of medical care is Odah's aunt.
“And the last video that I saw of her is going to haunt me for the rest of my life as she laid in a hospital bed that didn't have any medication and didn't have any access to oxygen, didn't have any electricity, taking labored breaths," Odah says.
Odah also lost her grandfather. But as Gaza's humanitarian crisis becomes more dire, a year in, getting aid into the region is more complicated than ever.
Dr. Majdi Hamarshi, a Kansas City-area doctor, is chairman of the board of directors for the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA). He attempted to travel to Gaza to provide medical aid in the spring, but says he was denied because of his Palestinian heritage.
And since July, the number of doctors PAMA can send — and the amount of supplies they can bring with them — have dwindled.
"We used to send medical supplies with the team, they'd carry suitcases full of supplies. Now they are only allowed to carry with them their personal supplies, like one small bag of personal supplies," Hamarshi said. "So many, many surgeons (are) telling us, 'I'm not going to go if I'm not going to take my supplies with me. I'm not going to be helpful,' and so on."
PAMA has tried to send medical supplies to Gaza from Jordan, but Hamarshi says nothing has been successfully sent for two months.
“We need to rebuild the whole health system. So a medical mission, go in there for a week or two, it is just a Band-Aid on a deep bleeding wound," he says.
As the conflict enters its second year, the World Health Organization estimates that only 17 out of 36 hospitals are still functional in Gaza.
Despite the difficulty of the last year, Hamarshi says PAMA helps lift community spirits.
"For over a year they felt powerless, and they felt that they are leaving Gazan people alone and not helping them," Hamarshi says. "So through PAMA, they feel that they're doing something, and that gives them a little boost of hope."
- Maha Odah, Palestinian organizer in Kansas City with family in Gaza
- Dr. Majdi Hamarshi, chair of the board of directors, Palestinian American Medical Association
Additional listening
KCUR's Up To Date previously spoke with members of Kansas City's Jewish community about the anniversary of Oct. 7 and the war in Gaza.
