A 39-year-old father of six from Gaza City spoke about the suffering he has endured during the war, the fight for survival, the loss of his brother’s family, the injuries he and his family sustained in an Israeli strike and the struggle to find proper treatment for his five-year-old daughter, whose leg was amputated.
Until the war, I lived with my wife and our children—Tala, 13, Shahd, 12, Sumayah, 11, Du’aa, 9, Malak, 5, and Hamdi, 3, in a three-story building in the a-Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City. My parents and my two siblings, Mahmoud and Ibrahim, and their families lived in the other two apartments.
At the beginning of October 2023, my parents traveled to Mecca for the Umrah (minor pilgrimage). Life was normal until 7 October 2023, and then everything changed. The bombings started very quickly everywhere, from north to south, and the situation escalated and grew worse.
At the end of October, the army dropped leaflets and ordered us to evacuate the a-Tufah neighborhood. We all gathered, my family and the families of my brothers Mahmoud and Ibrahim, about 16 people, and started getting ready to leave. At first, we went to my maternal uncle’s house in the al-Sahbeh are in eastern Gaza City and stayed there for about 15 days. From there, we moved to the home of relatives in the al-Ghafri area of Gaza City. While we were there, planes bombed all the streets near the house, surrounding the area with a terrifying ring of fire. We heard the screams and cries of women and children trapped under the rubble, but we were afraid that if we approached, we’d be bombed too.
After another army raid on the al-Tufah area, which lasted about 15 days, we returned to our home there. We discovered that the army had destroyed our area almost completely. The houses and streets were flattened and looked more like a desert. Our house was partially destroyed. We stayed there, and more people joined us. There were nearly 30 of us.
There was severe hunger at that time. We fed our children bread we baked from seeds meant for pigeons, from barley, and from other animal feed that we ground. We also risked going to a-Nabulsi Square to get flour and food packages that were occasionally airdropped there. Many people died trying to bring a little food to satisfy their children’s hunger.
On 10 July 2024, the army invaded our area again. We did not leave the house, and on 15 July 2024, at 2:00 A.M., planes bombed our house while we were sleeping. My brother Ibrahim, 29, was killed in this bombing along with his wife, Sally Khader Subhi Yasin, 21, their son Hamdi, 2, and their baby daughter Masah, 4 months old, who was born during this horrific war. Their bodies were torn to pieces and thrown onto the roofs of nearby houses. I was seriously injured all over my body, including my abdomen, and had several surgeries. My wife, all my daughters, my brother Mahmoud, and his family members were also injured. We reached al-Ma’amadani (Al-Ahli) Hospital, about two kilometers south of our area, around 3:00 A.M.. We lay there on the floor for several hours without receiving treatment because many dead and wounded had been brought there, far beyond the hospital’s capacity. At nine in the morning, the doctors had to amputate my five-year-old daughter Malak’s leg because it was in really bad shape.
We left the hospital after two weeks and returned to our home in the al-Tufah neighborhood. We continued to suffer under constant bombings, and the areas east of our house kept being raided as well. Death was right at our doorstep again and again. Shells were fired in the area every day, and army quadcopters and snipers shot at the windows of houses. This continued until the ceasefire was declared on 19 January 2025.
As soon as the fighting stopped, even for a few months, I started looking for medications and treatments for my daughter Malak. Her condition grew worse and became very serious, my little one. She needed several more surgeries that could not be performed in the Strip. I managed to get her a referral for treatment abroad, but I could not get her out of the Strip because of the hermetic siege imposed on us by the occupation army. What crime did my little girl commit to have her leg amputated and then also be denied the right to receive treatment and medicine?
I urge anyone who can to help us get treatment and a prosthesis for my little girl, who is totally innocent. What is she asking for? What are my children asking for? To live in peace and safety, without bombings and killing. To live with dignity and enjoy their childhood, like children everywhere. To go back to school after all the months they’ve missed. The schools have become IDP camps, and in any case, amid the bombings, fear, and hunger, it is impossible to focus and learn. The older children and I are constantly busy trying to survive, especially to get food. It’s draining all of our strength.
* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 5 March 2025.