My mother said with a trembling voice, “The war will never end this time.”

They just bombed a building belonging to one of our neighbors, jolting us awake. I covered myself with a blanket to shield against the debris. Ahmad, my youngest brother, was on top of me; I thought he was injured. I rushed to the window.

Smoke rose from every direction.

The first martyrs are children. The house was full of people! Good people.

Through her tears, my mother said, “The war is back again. The war is back worse than ever. No one is going to save us from them?”

Then she said “what are we going to eat for iftar today?”

Naji, the military spokesperson for Saraya Al-Quds, has been martyrd along with his entire family.

Naji was my childhood friend. In school, he was the bravest among us, the most committed, and the most well-mannered. How unbearably painful is the world’s betrayal of you, Naji.

Naji in Arabic means the one who survives everything, even death. Naji survived the genocide through his martyrdom, and we will all survive if the world decides we deserve to. In either case, we are all Naji. We are all survivors.

Yes, I’m still here…but not for much longer. I can feel it. There’s nothing left to hold on to; not even the world itself. My mind is empty now, except for one certainty; I will not survive this. But how can I die? How will they carry on without me; for my family, my patients, those still counting on me? How can I die, knowing that my mother will never survive losing me?

I now see myself only as a martyr. As my friend Naji, I truly feel it. Because what else is left? What more is there to do? I no longer wish to live in this world. Not like this. Not here. Not now. Not anywhere. Not ever.

Don’t worry about me. Your worries don't change anything. They won’t help.

Forget me if you must, but never forget what was done to us. Don’t forgive them. Don’t give up on my people

Edit; By the way, I believe they will soon attempt to free some of their prisoners using brutal military force, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocents, just as they did before in my camps, when they killed 274 and injured more than 700 people, all to free 3 hostages. And they called it a victory.

So far, there have been more than 429 martyrs in less than a day, with over 70% of them being children and women. Is this what will make America great again? Is this what will bring peace?