{
  "id": 12811145,
  "title": "I left Gaza, but my body is trapped in the horrors of war",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/i-left-gaza-but-my-body-is-trapped-in-the-horrors-of-war",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-08T06:37:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/i-left-gaza-my-body-trapped-horrors-war"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Reem Salim, a survivor of the war in Gaza, finds herself haunted by the memories and physical scars of the conflict even after physically fleeing the region. On 19 February 2024, she left Gaza behind but cannot escape the psychological and bodily trauma it inflicted. The sight and sound of an airplane overhead triggers a deep sense of fear, reminiscent of past Israeli air strikes that left her trembling and fearful for her life. The call to prayer, meant to bring peace, instead fills her with dread, as it took her life in October 2023 when an Israeli bombardment struck her neighbor's house, causing her to choke on the smell of gunpowder and nearly die. Years later, every time she hears the call to prayer, her body involuntarily reacts as if danger is still imminent. Salim's physical body bears the scars of the war, too. A piece of stone shattered a window near her during an intense Israeli bombardment, causing a large nail to be driven into her finger, which she had to have stitched without anesthesia. The wound healed, but the injury left her with a fear of doors and chronic inflammation in her tailbone, caused by long periods of sitting on a hard surface while displaced. Salim's experience illustrates the haunting impact the war has had on her body and mind, proving that the body retains a memory of the trauma even when the mind believes the danger has passed.",
  "summary": "I left Gaza, but my body is trapped in the horrors of war Submitted by Reem Salim on Fri, 10/02/2026 - 15:00 Ordinary sounds like the call to prayer, or the sight of an airplane overhead, still leave me tense and fearful Smoke and fire rise after an Israeli air strike on a house in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 9 September 2026 (Bashar Taleb/AFP) On I left Gaza on 19 February 2024,…",
  "key_points": [
    "Reem Salim fled Gaza but remains haunted by war's horrors.",
    "Sight and sound of airplane trigger deep fear from past air strikes.",
    "Call to prayer evokes dread, recalling neighbor's death in October 2023."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}