[News] Suffering starts all over again in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://electronicintifada.net/content/suffering-starts-all-over-again-gaza/25141 



  Suffering starts all over again in Gaza

Hamza Abu Eltarabesh 
<https://electronicintifada.net/people/hamza-abu-eltarabesh> - 30 July 2018

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fadel Abu al-Qumsan has survived two attacks in the past four years.

Early on 3 August 2014, Israel bombed <https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=1603> 
his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp of northern Gaza. Two of his 
nieces and his brother-in-law were killed.

In recent months, Fadel, 53, and his family have once again been hurt by 
Israeli state violence.

On 6 April 2018, Fadel joined the Great March of Return 
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/great-march-return> to demand that 
Palestinians uprooted by Zionist forces in 1948 be allowed to return home.

At approximately 3 pm, he fell to the ground screaming. He had been shot 
in the leg by an Israeli sniper.

Fadel was roughly 700 meters from the boundary fence between Gaza and 
Israel at the time.

“I didn’t expect to be injured,” Fadel said. “I’m an old man and I was 
standing away from the fence. But it seems that Israel does not 
distinguish between children, young people, the elderly or women. This 
was a clear message from Israel that anyone who participates in the 
demonstrations is a target.”

The leg in which Fadel was shot had already been injured in the 1990s. 
The injury occurred during an accident while Fadel was a construction 
worker inside Israel. He has required crutches since then.

Fortunately, the bullet which hit Fadel in April this year did not cause 
major damage.

His 22-year-old son Muhammad, however, was subsequently shot by Israel. 
Muhammad was hit under the knee of his right leg with an exploding 
bullet on 22 June.

He remains in Gaza’s Indonesia hospital. Although Muhammad has been 
referred to a hospital in Turkey for further treatment, he has not yet 
received the full approval he needs to travel there.


    “I will never forget the fear”

Muhammad’s mother Jamila described his condition as “very dangerous.” 
There is a possibility, she added, that an amputation will have to be 
carried out.

“The last four years have been the most difficult in my life,” Jamila 
said. “I lost my house and witnessed the deaths of three people. Now I’m 
suffering again because my husband and two of my sons have been injured.”

Amer, Muhammad’s elder brother, was wounded on 30 March, the first day 
of the Great March of Return. He was close to the boundary with Israel 
when a sniper shot him.

“Suddenly, I felt something burning my thigh,” Amer, 29, said. “After a 
moment, I fell on the ground. But, thank God, my injury was not serious. 
I stayed for one day in the hospital and I returned home on a crutch.”

Fifteen Palestinians were massacred 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-kills-15-palestinians-gaza> 
that day and others have since died from their injuries. Aware that 
standing up to Israel is risky, Amer is determined to remain politically 
active.

The Great March of Return resonates strongly with his family as they 
originally hail from Deir Sunayd, a village about 12 kilometers from 
Gaza. Deir Sunayd’s population was expelled 
<http://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/Dayr-Sunayd/index.html> by 
Zionist forces when they occupied the village in 1948.

“The memory of our house being targeted in 2014 still lives with me,” 
said Amer. “I will never forget the fear we felt before we managed to 
escape. But this will not prevent me from participating in the Great 
March of Return and demanding my rights.”


    “No comfort”

Laila Hassaballah was living just a few meters away from the Abu 
al-Qumsan family in 2014.

Her son Ismail – an officer in the Gaza police – was injured in the same 
attack. He was hit in the head with shrapnel, causing him to lose sight 
in one eye.

In 2016, Laila sold her jewelry and borrowed money from a relative so 
that Ismail could receive treatment in Cairo. It took four attempts 
before they eventually could travel in December of that year. The Rafah 
crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt was repeatedly closed.

When they eventually reached Cairo, they had to wait two months before 
the surgery on Ismail’s retina could be completed. He also required 
counseling.

Although Laila lacked sufficient funds to cover their expenses, she 
remained in the Egyptian capital. The treatment proved effective. By the 
time they returned to Gaza in February 2017, there was considerable 
improvement in Ismail’s eyesight.

Now aged 30, he is studying for a master’s degree in police science at 
Gaza’s Ummah Open University.

The family has not been spared further pain. On 20 April this year, 
Ismail’s brother Ahmad was shot in the right leg by an Israeli sniper 
while taking part in the Great March of Return.

The bullet which struck Ahmad, 25, has damaged his nerves and arteries. 
He is awaiting permission to visit Egypt for treatment.

With severe shortages 
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/gazas-health-sector-near-collapse/24606> 
of medicine, equipment and fuel in Gaza’s hospitals, Ahmad is unable to 
receive all the assistance he requires locally.

“If I stay in Gaza, I may die and never see my daughter again,” said 
Ahmad, referring to his 1-year-old child Fatma. “The condition of my 
health is getting worse every day.”

His mother, Laila, is preparing herself for the likelihood she will have 
to borrow money for his treatment. “I will not watch him die slowly,” 
she said.

“I thought that my suffering ended when I returned [from Egypt] with 
Ismail,” Laila said. “He’s doing well now and he’s financially 
supporting the family. But it seems that my suffering is just starting 
over again with Ahmad’s injury. Over the past four years, I have had no 
comfort in my life.”


    “We didn’t know where to go”

During the 2014 attack on Gaza, the Israeli authorities used euphemisms 
to try and justify their targeting of civilians. Missile strikes 
described as “roof-knocking” are one such euphemism 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/us-adopts-lethal-israeli-tactic-protect-civilians>.

Through that tactic, a building was bombed as a prelude to a deadlier 
assault.

Omar Abu Khater was the victim of “roof-knocking.” In July 2014, an 
Israeli drone fired a missile at his family’s home in the Khan Younis 
area of Gaza.

All 19 members of his extended family who were in the two-story building 
at the time had to evacuate hastily. A few minutes later, the house was 
destroyed in a more powerful blast.

Abu Khater likens the hours following the attack to the Nakba – Arabic 
for catastrophe – the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine. “Everyone was 
running around and we didn’t know where to go,” he said. “I’ll never 
forget those moments.”

Towards the end of 2016, the family received some financial assistance 
to rebuild their home. The aid came from Kuwait and was administered by 
Gaza’s public works ministry. It was only enough to reconstruct one floor.

They had to borrow heavily so that they could finish the job. As a 
result, the family is about $50,000 in debt.

Abu Khater, 26, works as a photojournalist with /Quds Press/ and has 
documented the Great March of Return at considerable risk.

During one of the protests, a tear gas projectile hit his left leg. He 
required surgery on his wound but managed to resume work after a few days.

On another occasion, an Israeli sniper shot at his motorbike, causing 
its fuel tank to explode.

He has also been asphyxiated by tear gas – a chemical weapon 
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-testing-new-types-tear-gas-bethlehem/22856> 
which Israel has fired liberally on Palestinians – a number of times in 
recent months.

Abu Khater tries to find solace by remembering how he enjoyed life 
before the 2014 attacks. Each midday, he used to read a book and drink 
coffee on the roof of his house.

He still seeks a quiet spot in the reconstructed house, so that he can 
sit and “imagine the old days,” he said, yet he will not allow nostalgia 
to reduce his commitment to his work.

“Losing my house and my injuries will not stop me from covering Israeli 
war crimes.”

/Hamza Abu Eltarabesh is a journalist and writer from Gaza./


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