Palestinians commemorate 78 years since the Nakba on May 15

Gaza Commemorates 78th Anniversary of Nakba

Millions of Palestinians marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” on Friday. The event commemorates the mass expulsion and flight of approximately 750,000 Palestinians from their homes during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

The anniversary is the third since Israel’s conflict with Gaza began, with over two million people in the enclave still displaced and confined to a fraction of their territory. A ceasefire was established in October, but more than six months later, Gaza’s population remains densely packed into less than half of the 40km strip along the Mediterranean coast.

Historical records indicate that around 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes between 1947 and 1949, with over 400 villages and urban neighborhoods depopulated or destroyed to make way for new Jewish immigrants. Today, hundreds of thousands of those expelled and their descendants live in refugee camps across the region.

Many Palestinian refugees continue to demand the right to return to their ancestral towns and villages, a principle enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolution 194. The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led some to view the Nakba as an ongoing process of dispossession.

Activists and survivors marked the anniversary with commemorative events, emphasizing both remembrance and demands for justice, self-determination, and return.

Source: Al Jazeera