I I am a Palestinian mother who has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in physics, and I am currently a doctoral student. I work as a lecturer at Gaza’s University College of Science and Technology.
I married my first husband when I was 22 years old. We had two children: our son, Shihab, who is now 19, and our daughter, Maryam, who is 17. Sadly, in 2007, my husband died in a tragic accident, which I witnessed. I had a psychological breakdown and after several years I remarried my first husband’s brother. I became his second wife; He already had a wife and three children: Asma, 16, Ali, 13, and Muhammad, 12. Together, we had four children: Zeina, now 12, Yasin, 11, Naseeba, eight, and Zain al-Din, two.
Later, his first wife separated from him and I raised all my children like a family.
My second husband, Kamel al-Ghalban, earned a master’s degree in business administration and worked as a police officer specializing in drug enforcement. We lived as a blended family with his three children, my two children and our four children.
We were the happiest family I could imagine.
Shihab graduated from high school with excellent grades. Mariam was preparing for her Taujihi exams (taken at the end of secondary school) this year, but the war disrupted everything, and she is now studying online, trying to challenge the circumstances.
On the first day of the war, we woke up to sounds we thought were thunder, only then did we realize that the war had started. On November 15 last year, my family and I were forced to flee our home in Khan Yunis and take shelter in a school, under terrible, inhumane conditions. We returned home briefly, but intense shelling forced us to take shelter in the school again. On December 5, a shell fell, killing my husband, Kamel, and his son, Ali, instantly.
Muhammad suffered serious injuries to his back and leg, which led to his leg being amputated. He was evacuated from Gaza and is now undergoing treatment in Türkiye.
Following the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces in April, people began returning to Khan Yunis. I and my children also returned. My first husband’s house was still standing, but my second husband’s house was destroyed.
On April 12, when we were carrying our belongings from school to our first house, I along with Shihab and Yasin tried to set up a tent on the debris of our house. Yasin stood on the debris and gave Azaan. Suddenly a missile exploded nearby. The view became black due to smoke. While searching for Yasin, I found him with both his legs amputated and a finger on his right hand amputated.
Due to lack of transport or ambulance we could not reach the hospital for one and a half hours. Upon arrival, the doctors told me that his blood count was critically low, and that he needed eight units of blood and four units of plasma.
Yassin remained in the European hospital for three months until the occupation forces ordered his evacuation. We moved to Nasser Hospital, where the charity Médecins Sans Frontieres began managing his care. I am extremely grateful to Yasin’s team for their efforts to assist in his health and psychological recovery.
The day my husband and Ali were killed, I buried them amid fierce gunfire. I left Muhammad with his aunt at Nasser Hospital and fled with the other children to Rafah without money, shelter, food or water. Before moving into tents, we lived in a warehouse for a month and endured the same conditions as thousands of displaced Palestinians.
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Yasin had a YouTube channel where he shared his love for raising animals, planting trees, playing football and memorizing the Quran. He dreamed of becoming a football player.
Israeli authorities recently allowed Yasin to travel for treatment, but I was not allowed to accompany him on the pretext that I was a security threat to Israel. I am an academic, a mother and a doctoral student. How can I threaten someone’s safety?
If the war ends before I die, I plan to leave Gaza permanently and seek refuge in a European country. I have endured indescribable hardships and no longer feel safe. These are the worst days of my life.
I desperately wish to find proper food to take care of Yasin’s nutrition. He had surgery three days ago and I am not getting protein rich food for his recovery.
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Fadwa al-Masri speaking to Aseel Musa via video link from Gaza
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