Muhammad and Ziad from Al-Maghazi camp invested everything they owned...and the occupation destroyed their dream.”

Gaza - Ofoq News - The “Pistachio House” project, which was established several months ago, was not just a commercial project in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Rather, it was a big dream behind which hidden the toil of many years, savings collected by two young men, and an ambition to have a mark on life, and a source of livelihood that would provide them and their families with a decent life in light of the harsh conditions of war and siege.

Engineer Muhammad Muslim and his friend Ziad Mansour decided to make their way through work and self-reliance. They paid all the money they had to establish their project, and spent a lot of effort and time preparing it, keeping in mind that the small beginning would be a gateway to success and expansion in the future.

The two young men dreamed that the project would grow day by day, that the hours of tiredness and sleeplessness would turn into a success story of which they could be proud, and that this shop would be a support for their families at a time when obtaining a living became a daily challenge facing thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

But dreams in Gaza often collide with the harsh reality of war. Two days ago, the occupation aircraft targeted a house near the shops in which the project is located, in Al-Maghazi camp in the middle of the market. The effects of the bombing reached the “Pistachio House” store and completely destroyed it, in a scene that left the two young men with nothing but regret for the money and effort they had made, and for a future that they were planning to build step by step.

Despite the harshness of the scene and the magnitude of the loss, Muhammad and Mansour still have hope to renew this project

Engineer Muslim says that he and his partner Muhammad put all their money and savings into this project, after a long journey of fatigue, staying up late and planning, and they hoped that “Pistachio House” would constitute the beginning of a better future and a stable source of livelihood for them and their families. But the bombing destroyed their dream in moments, leaving them with a loss beyond their ability to bear

As for Mansour’s partner, he confirmed that despite the bitterness of the shock, he clings to hope, will, and determination to rebuild the project again, if they have the capabilities, pointing out that the war had destroyed the place, but it could not take away from them the desire to rise up and continue life.

It is the story of two young men who tried to make a life in the midst of death and destruction. They lost their project due to the bombing, but they did not give up their dream of rising again, after they invested everything they had in a project that was supposed to be the beginning of a better future for them and their families.

Muhammad and Ziad do not need words of comfort alone, but rather a hand that extends to them and helps them stand again, until “Pistachio House” returns as a witness that the will to live in Gaza is stronger than destruction.