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For the last two years, my social media algorithm has been relentlessly dominated by Gaza, particularly the voices of ordinary Gazans, displaying a blend of emotions that center on two core principles: grief and defiance.

Grief has characterized life in Gaza for many years, a consequence of successive Israeli wars, the unrelenting siege and habitual bombardment. The last two years, marked by genocide and famine, however, have redefined that grief in a way that is almost incomprehensible to the Palestinians themselves.

Yes, Palestine has endured numerous massacres before, during and since the Nakba — the tragic destruction of the Palestinian homeland. But those massacres were typically episodic, each distinctively marked by specific historical circumstances. Each is incorporated into the collective psyche as proof of Israeli barbarity, but also as a demonstration of Palestinians’ own enduring resilience as a people.

I grew up in a Gaza refugee camp, where we commemorated each massacre with rallies, general strikes and artistic expressions. We knew the victims and immortalized them through chants, political graffiti, poetry and the like.

The war of extermination committed by Israel against Gaza in the last two years has fundamentally changed all of that. In just 24 hours across Oct. 23-24, 2023, the Israeli army killed , including 120 in the refugee camp alone. Single bombs annihilated hundreds, often in hospitals, refugee shelters or UN schools. Massacres were taking place every day, everywhere.

There was no time to reflect on any of the massacres, to pray for the victims or even to bury them with dignity

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

There was no time to reflect on any of these massacres, to pray for the victims or even to bury them with dignity. All Gazans could do was desperately try to cling to life itself, bury their loved ones in mass graves and use their bare hands to dig the wounded and dead out from under the massive slabs of concrete and mountains of rubble. Thousands unaccounted for, while about a quarter of a million Gazans have been killed or wounded.

The tally will continue to grow and the degree of devastation keeps worsening, even now that the rate of killing has subsided. Why, then, does my social media feed continue to show Palestinians openly celebrating their victory? Why are Gaza’s children, though gaunt and exhausted due to the famine, to perform traditional “dabke” dances? Why is 5-year-old Maria Hannoun, one of Gaza’s many influencers, to recite the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and send fiery messages to US President Donald Trump that Gaza will never be defeated?

To say that “Gazans are built differently” is a massive understatement. I have spent the last 20 years dedicated to academic research on the people’s history of Palestine, focusing heavily on Gaza, and I still find their collective will astonishing. They seem to have made a shared, conscious decision: the metrics for their defeat or victory will be entirely separate from those used by the media covering the war.

These measures are rooted in resistance as a foundational choice. Core values like “” (dignity), “izza” (pride), and “sabr” (patience) are the standards by which Gaza judges its performance. And, by these profound standards, the people of the genocide and famine-stricken Strip have won this war.

Because these values are often ignored or misinterpreted in media coverage of the war, many have found Gaza’s response to the ceasefire — unbridled joy and celebration — confusing. The scene of mothers waiting for their sons to be released in a large celebration in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, was particularly illuminating. They cried bitterly, while clapping and ululating all at once. One mother perfectly clarified the paradox for a reporter: the tears were for the sons and daughters killed in the war, and the ululation was for those being released.

The Palestinians in Gaza understand that Israel’s war was ultimately an attempt to destroy their peoplehood

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

The news media, however, rarely understands the complexity of the Gaza survival paradigm. Some, including Israeli military analysts, have concluded that Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the war because he failed to achieve any of his declared objectives. Others speak of some kind of Israeli victory simply because it managed to obliterate nearly the whole of Gaza and a large section of its populace.

Each side uses numbers to back up its claims. Yet, the Palestinians in Gaza view this situation in a fundamentally different way. They understand that Israel’s war was ultimately an attempt to destroy their peoplehood — to shatter their spirit, disorient their culture, turn them against one another and ultimately eradicate the essence of being Palestinian.

Gazans celebrate because they know Israel has . The Palestinian nation has emerged even more deeply rooted in its identity, both in Gaza and elsewhere. The child singing of the martyrs, the civil defense workers dancing the dabke for their fallen comrades and the woman using the wreckage of a destroyed Israeli Merkava tank to air her laundry — all these images speak of a nation unified by its love for life and its fierce commitment to shared values of valor, honor and love.

Some analysts, trying to find a more nuanced and reasoned conclusion, have resolved that neither Israel won the war nor were Palestinians defeated. While this balanced approach can be appreciated in terms of the strategic reading of the ceasefire, it is still fundamentally incorrect when understood against the backdrop of popular Palestinian culture. For ordinary people, survival, continuity and self-assertion are the ultimate signs of victory against Israel, a country that does not hesitate to use genocide for temporary political gain. The core of their triumph is simply this: they remain.

• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, “Before the Flood,” will be published by Seven Stories Press. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net. X: @RamzyBaroud