Diaries from Gaza: I realized that Squid Game was not fiction

Noor al-Yacoubi is a 27-year-old translator and writer. She hasn't left the Gaza Strip since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, and has been sharing reflections on her life with L'Orient Today during the war.Gaza wasn’t perfect, but it had dignity. The wealth gap was narrow. People had homes. We ate chicken — sometimes even meat. Families celebrated birthdays. Neighbors looked after one another. We weren’t divided into castes. We were a community. But the Gaza we once knew is now gone. We are now contestants in a blood-soaked game where survival is the only prize. The desperate fight for a handful of food while those in power stand behind fences, watching, betting on who will die next.That’s when I realized Squid Game wasn’t fiction. It was a preview. Gaza lives it every day — especially at the GHF so-called aid distribution centers....