Zanana (Arabic:زنانة,romanized: zanāna) is an Arabic slang term used byPalestinians in theGaza Strip. The word means "buzzing sound" and it is used to refer to the noise produced byIsraelidrones in the sky over Gaza, as well as to the drones themselves.
The Gaza Strip wasoccupied by Israel in the 1967Six-Day War, and placed under Israeli military administration. The 1993Oslo Accords altered the deployment of Israeli troops in Gaza, with the newPalestinian Authority holdingpolice power, but Israel retained control of the borders, major roads, andIsraeli settlements and surrounding areas. TheSecond Intifada beginning in 2000 led to stricter Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in Gaza. In 2005, Israelunilaterally disengaged from Gaza, evacuating settlers and army personnel. However, Israel subsequently continued to send its military into Gaza at its own discretion,[1] and retained practical control of Gaza's borders,airspace, andterritorial waters.[2][3] In 2007, following Hamas's election into power in Gaza,Israel imposed an indefinite blockade on Gaza, restricting the movement of people and goods including food supply and infrastructure.[2]
"We're looking at how you control a city or a territory from the air when it's no longer legitimate to hold or occupy that territory on the ground."
Israel is a leading manufacturer and exporter ofdrones, and uses drones extensively in its military operations.[5] Israeli drones were first developed in the 1980s forsurveillance purposes during theIsraeli occupation of Southern Lebanon.[6] Since 2000, Israeli drones have commonly been present in the sky over theGaza Strip,[7] where they were initially used for surveillance;missile strikes targeting people and infrastructure first occurred in 2004 and proliferated in 2006 after Israel's unilateral disengagement.[6] According toIsrael Defense Forces data, drones flew 6,000 hours in Gaza airspace during the 11-day2021 Israel–Palestine crisis; 4,000 flight hours per month is a typical statistic in Gaza.[8] In addition to surveilling and killing both militants and civilians,[7] with a majority of those killed being civilians,[6] the drones produce a near-constant buzzing noise audible from the ground,[6][7] disruptsatellite television reception,[3][9] and create a psychological impact involving fear among the Palestinian population in Gaza.[3][6][8][10] Increases in volume generate fear of military escalation, and the consistent buzzing is disruptive to sleep.[11]
"For us, drones mean death. When you hear drones, you hear death."
A rough literal translation of theArabic wordzanana (alsotransliteratedzenana) is "buzzing sound" or "noisemaker".[7][3] InEgypt, which borders Gaza and has influenced its culture,zenana is aslang term that refers to a nagging wife.[3] The term was adopted byPalestinians in theGaza Strip to refer to the buzzing noise produced by Israeli drones,[6][12] which is audible from the ground and at times disrupts the sleep of people in Gaza.[7] Throughsynecdoche, the term is also used to refer to the drones themselves.[7][9][10] It has also been used by Palestinians in Gaza to refer to internalinformants who provide information toHamas or the Palestinian Authority.[9]
Residents of Gaza frequently complain about thezanana on social media, referring both to the sound produced by the drones and the presence of the drones themselves.[11] It has also been mentioned in various works of literature by Palestinians in Gaza.[8][11]