TEHRAN — Three Palestinian students living in Iran shared personal accounts of life in Gaza and the toll of being far from home during the current conflict, in an interview published by the Iranian daily Hamshahri.
Rahaf Abu Taha, a medical student at University of Tehran born in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, said her family’s history reflects “generations of displacement.” 
“From the first day of my life, Palestine was alive within me. We receive love for our homeland with our mother’s milk,” she added.
Ahmed al-Hadidi, also a medical student from Gaza at Shahid Beheshti University, said he has had no stable contact with his family since October 5, 2023. “I only receive very short messages saying they are alive,” he said.
Muhammad al-Staitan, an electrical engineering student at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, described experiencing four wars since childhood. In the most recent conflict, he said his family home was completely destroyed and his relatives are now sheltering in a school. 
“More than 80 percent of Gaza is in ruins,” he said. “Most people live in tents, and rain floods them.”
The students recounted years of restrictions in Gaza, describing the territory as under a long-standing blockade. Staitan said movement by land and sea was heavily curtailed even before October 7, adding, “We lived in one of the biggest prisons in the world.”
Abutaha, whose family was displaced to Syria, recounted her grandfather’s imprisonment and exile, saying it shaped the family’s understanding of resistance and survival.
Hadidi said the conflict has spanned his entire life. “This story has gone on for 80 years,” he said. “At least a million people have been killed.”
All three students described difficulty contacting relatives because of limited electricity and Internet access. Staitan said he has spoken with his mother only six times during the past two years of conflict. “Some think the war is over,” he said. “There is a ceasefire, but whenever they want, they strike again.”
Hadidi said communication is often reduced to a single message: “We are alive.”
The students said Iranian classmates have generally been supportive, though many knew little about the history of the conflict.
Abu Taha said she is often asked whether Palestinians “sold their land,” a misconception she finds surprising. Staitan distributed a printed leaflet on campus explaining the history of displacement. “Some classmates understood what had happened after reading it,” he said.
Hadidi added that while most students are welcoming, misunderstandings persist because “not all information people receive is correct.”
The students recounted past conflicts. Staitan described the 2014 war as the most difficult. He recalled a night when a strike caused the roof of his family’s home to collapse. “For the first time, I saw someone whose hand was severed,” he said. “I was 13. It was very hard.”
Asked about current conditions, he said many Gazans live in the open or in flooded tents. “Winter is harsh,” he said. “Children cannot bear it. Food is scarce.”
Despite the distance, all three expressed determination to contribute to Gaza’s future.
“Our responsibility is to finish our studies and help rebuild Gaza,” Hadidi said.