The night was heavy in the tunnel, and faces were pale with exhaustion and hunger.
Yusuf sat near Daniel, while the others scattered around them.
But this time his voice was not faint... it was as if he wanted everyone to hear him.
After a long hesitation, Daniel said:
"Yusuf? Tell me... how did you end up here, Yusuf? You were... a doctor, weren't you?"
Yusuf sighed, looked at the wall as if he could see beyond it, then began:
"I was a veterinarian. I love animals... I love treating them, bringing a wounded bird or a sick horse back to life. I never thought about fighting. I had a small house in Gaza, a family... brothers... a son."
Naoum trembled. She wasn't used to hearing about Palestinians in this way: homes, children, simple dreams.Yusuf continued, his voice choked with pain:
"In 2018, they bombed my family's house. My father, mother, brother, and son, who was in his grandfather's arms that night, were killed. All I had left was my wife, my eight-year-old daughter, and a baby less than six months old. What was I supposed to do? Go back to the clinic as if nothing had happened?"
Silence fell.
Even Uri, who was used to sarcasm, remained silent, clenching his teeth.
Yusuf continued:
"That day, I realised that the occupation left us no choice. Either we die in silence... or we resist.
I left my profession... and joined the resistance. I wanted to spare others the pain I had
experienced."
He looked directly at Daniel, then at everyone else:
"You see us as terrorists... but the truth is that we are human beings who have been pushed to the brink. We are fighting to live. Just... to live."
Yusuf's voice finally trailed off, but it continued to echo through the tunnel.
Khalid bowed his head, his eyes glistening with tears: "If I had chosen his path instead of
betraying him... maybe I would have been a man."
Naoum stared at the ground, for the first time without trying to object, as if slowly realising that her laughter at the barriers had hurt people like Yusuf.
Ori hit the wall with his wounded fist, whispering in English:
"Lies... all lies..."
But his trembling voice betrayed him.
As for Daniel, he sat stunned, feeling his heart being reshaped by Yusuf's words, his image of "the enemy" no longer what it had been.