This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.

Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick.

In the days following the October 7th, Hamas attack, and then Israel's bombing and ground defense

in Gaza, I've been in close contact with a young Palestinian poet named Mossab Abu Toa.

We've published a couple of essays and a poem by Mossab, and there's more to come.

Recently on the radio hour, he described his family's plight, first leaving his neighborhood in Gaza City for a nearby refugee camp.

I remember that two days before the escalation, we bought some Peter.

It is sitting in my fridge in Betlavia.

I decide to return home, but not to tell my wife or mother,

because they would tell me not to go.

The only people in the street are walking in the opposite direction,

carrying clothes and blankets and food.

It is frightening not to see any local children playing marbles or football.

Since the war began, almost 2 million Gazans have been forced from their homes.

Nearly 85% of the population.

The Gaza Strip is about the size of Las Vegas,

but much more densely packed and most Gazans have no way of escape.

Mossab's youngest child was born while Mossab was studying in the United States, and the boy

has an American passport.

The U.S. State Department has been working to secure the exit of American citizens and their families in Gaza

through the border with Egypt.

We will continue to work at the highest levels to secure the release of every hostage held by Hamas

...