Dorgham Abusalim’s father died from complications due to Israel’s war and his mother fled to Egypt. As he watches on from Washington DC, the 35-year-old wonders: is there an end in sight?

On 10 January 2024, 35-year-old Dorgham Abusalim woke up to a flurry of messages: more than 40 missed phone calls and endless Facebook notifications.

Abusalim had slept in later than usual, a sluggish 9.00am instead of his usual 6.30am start. Since 7 October, when Israel launched a catastrophic war on Gaza following Hamas’s attack that killed 1,200 people, his job offered him more flexible start times as a means of support. Abusalim was born in Gaza and lived there until he was 16. He has been based in Washington DC since 2015, but much of his family is still in Palestine.