Palestinians in Gaza mark 78th anniversary of Nakba amid ongoing displacement and destruction

May 17, 2026

Palestinians in Gaza marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba on May 17, 2026, commemorating the 1948 mass expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians during Israel's founding. Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi, an 85-year-old survivor who fled Bir al-Saba (Beersheba) as a child in 1948, now lives in Jabalia refugee camp where he has been displaced multiple times since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023. Al-Wuheidi says the current destruction is unprecedented, surpassing even the trauma of 1948, with all the homes and land he and his brothers built over decades now destroyed. Despite the devastation—with more than half of Gaza's land seized and seven people killed on Nakba Day itself—al-Wuheidi returned to his heavily damaged home after the October 2025 ceasefire, saying the war has deepened his determination to remain rather than repeat what he calls his ancestors' mistake of fleeing.

1948 Nakba displacement

▪The 1948 Nakba resulted in the mass expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes at the founding of the state of Israel.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi was born in 1940 in Bir al-Saba (Beersheba) in the Naqab Desert.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi walked for days with his parents and three siblings during the 1948 displacement from Bir al-Saba to Gaza.
▪Palestinians in Gaza marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba on May 17, 2026.
▪Bir al-Saba was captured by Israeli forces in 1948, forcing much of its Palestinian population out.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi and his family left Bir al-Saba for Gaza in 1948 with the hope of returning in a few weeks.

Life in Jabalia refugee camp

▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi and his brothers built homes and bought land in Gaza before the current war.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi's family initially settled in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood before moving to Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi is 85 years old and lives in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi worked for years inside Israel in construction during a period when Palestinian labourers were granted work permits.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi raised the five sons of his late brother after their father died when they were children.

Current Gaza war impact

▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi says the scale of destruction during the latest war on Gaza is unprecedented compared to previous Israeli wars and the years-long blockade.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi says what Palestinians are enduring in the current war surpasses the pain and trauma of the 1948 Nakba.

Repeated displacement experience

▪Israeli forces ordered everyone to evacuate southwards from the United Nations-run school in Jabalia using loudspeakers during the early months of the war.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi was displaced multiple times during the war beginning in October 2023, including to the Gaza seaport area in western Gaza City and to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi sought shelter in a United Nations-run school in Jabalia before Israeli forces stormed it during the early months of the war.

Return to destroyed Jabalia

▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi returned to his home in Jabalia after the October 2025 ceasefire even though it was heavily damaged.
▪Residents were allowed to return to northern Gaza after the October 2025 ceasefire announcement.

Right of return determination

▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi considered staying in his home and refusing to leave during the war, unwilling to repeat what he called the mistake of his ancestors who fled in 1948.
▪Abdel Mahdi al-Wuheidi says he would refuse a palace in New York in exchange for his destroyed house in Jabalia.