In every corner of Gaza, a child, a woman, or an elder has been killed. There is no talk in Gaza now except about the victims of Israel’s brutal aggression.
An old man sat before his orphaned grandchildren and tearfully addressed them, “Tell the Messenger of Allah that the world has abandoned us in Gaza.”
“They have forsaken us, O Messenger of Allah. The Israelis have cut us to pieces in Gaza, and the nation world watches. Tell him, my master.”
This is one among dozens of heart-moving scenes that occur among the survivors of the ongoing Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip for the 37th consecutive day.
Ahmed Badawi, a young Gazan said, “Tell the world that the streets of Gaza are filled with the scent of musk (referring to the scent of perfume which is believed to emanate from the body of the martyrs – PC).
In every corner of Gaza, a child, a woman, or an elder has been killed.
There is no talk in Gaza now except about the victims of Israel’s brutal aggression.
“Who has been killed? Who has been injured? Where is the new bombing? Is there bread? Have the aid shipments entered? Has the war stopped? Hasn’t the world had enough bloodshed? And the martyrs who have fallen! And the children whose bodies have been torn apart! Hasn’t the world had enough of just watching!”
“The sunlight saved me,” proclaimed 11-year-old Mohammad Saeed, who survived the bombing of his home in the city of Deir al-Balah.
“Our house was targeted by Israeli airstrikes. I was sitting with my brother Ahmed when suddenly we heard a very loud noise, and I felt like I was falling from an elevator. After that, I lost consciousness.”
The child, who survived the massacre, continued, “I woke up after a period. I don’t know how long. The place was very dark. I felt around and found my brother Ahmed. I talked to him, and he had regained consciousness. We started removing the rubble and stones, crawling under our destroyed house.”
“I saw sunlight in the distance. My brother Ahmed and I began crawling, removing the stones, and heading towards it. I managed to scream until someone came to search for survivors. After that, I lost consciousness and didn’t wake up until I was in the hospital,” Mohammad told The Palestine Chronicle.
Mohammed’s brother, Ahmed, then spoke, “I woke up under the rubble of our house, and I was in a lot of pain. With my brother Mohammad, we started moving the stones and heading towards the sunlight. The sunlight was the reason for our rescue. After that, I lost consciousness and didn’t wake up until I was in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.”
“My grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, and siblings were martyred in the bombing of our house. Only my brother Mohammad and I are left. We suffered fractures in the hand and all over the body, and we are currently receiving treatment in the hospital,” Ahmed added.
“Only our uncle is left for us. Our entire family was martyred in the Israeli bombing. Our house was completely destroyed by the occupation. Everyone in our house were civilians. We didn’t do anything to the occupation for them to bomb us and kill my family,” the ten-year-old continued,
“I stayed with my young son for 12 hours under the rubble,” said Iman Mashmash, describing the harrowing hours of being trapped under the debris of her family’s home in Nuseirat.
“The occupation bombed a house in Nuseirat camp after midnight. I managed to escape from the nearby bombing of my home to my family’s house, but the occupation bombed our house, and I was trapped with my young son Amr for 12 hours under the rubble.”
Mashmash explained, “The bombing resulted in the martyrdom of more than 30 members of my family and neighbors. My son and I remained under the rubble for 12 hours. I felt great fear, and the darkness was intense. I would lose consciousness at times, and each time, I would hold my son’s hand and tell him that they would find us and rescue us.”
“I don’t know when we emerged from under the rubble, but all I know is that my entire family was martyred. Now I am in Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir al-Balah receiving treatment, with fractures all over my body, and doctors have inserted plates. My son has fractures all over his body, and plates have been placed in his foot,” she added.
“The house beside our home was also bombed. My husband told us to stay in a house belonging to the Abu Jarbou family in Nuseirat camp, but it was also bombed. Then my husband took me to my family’s home, and it was bombed with all of us inside. There is no safe place in Gaza; all of Gaza is subjected to annihilation,” Mashmash continued.
Musa Azmi, another resident, told The Palestine Chronicle that his wife is unaware of the fact that their sons and family were killed.
“I survived the bombing of our house because I was at work. I work in a small grocery store near my house, and I was standing with my brother at the store’s door when we witnessed the bombing of our house. We rushed towards it, and the tragedy unfolded,” he told us.
“My father, mother, brother, two sisters, my niece, and my cousin’s daughter were killed. My wife was injured with burns all over her body, and her foot was amputated. My son Azmi was injured with fractures and wounds all over his body,” Amzi added.
“I brought out my wife, whose foot was almost severed, and I brought out my daughter Nada and my son Mustafa as martyrs in pieces. I searched a lot for my son Azmi, but I couldn’t find him. The bombing threw him onto the house of our neighbors, and they rescued him,” he continued,
“For more than 20 days, my wife has been unaware of the death of our two sons. She only knows about my parents. I don’t know how to tell her the truth. She always asks about Nada and Mustafa, and I tell her that the bombing is everywhere, and I can’t bring them to the hospital for fear of harm. But in reality, they have been killed.”
“My wife’s condition is not stable; the burns are severe, and her foot has been amputated,” he continued.
“The health of my son Azmi is poor, and he has lost much of his memory. The occupation killed everything and deprived me of everything beautiful. I don’t know what I will do, but I try to be brave in front of them. They need me to be strong.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle in the Gaza Strip. His email is abdallahaljamal1987@gmail.com
Perhaps an even greater tragedy than that occurring daily in Gaza is that not only has the world forsaken Palestinians, it has forsaken humanity itself.
World ‘leaders’ who fail to condemn Israel’s atrocities and push hard for an immediate ceasefire do not show any leadership, they show only their complicity, their cowardice and their contempt for humanity.
Israel has forfeited any claim to a place in a ‘civilised’ world and should be boycotted and isolated.
“If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity” (A Einstein)