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<div class="header reader-header" style="display: block;"
dir="ltr"> <font size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/suffering-starts-all-over-again-gaza/25141">https://electronicintifada.net/content/suffering-starts-all-over-again-gaza/25141</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Suffering starts all over again in Gaza</h1>
<p class="node__submitted">
<span class="field field-author"><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/hamza-abu-eltarabesh">Hamza
Abu Eltarabesh</a></span> <span class="field
field-publisher">-</span>
<span class="field field-publication-date"><span
class="date-display-single"
content="2018-07-30T19:55:00+00:00">30 July 2018</span></span>
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<figure id="file-67326"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>Fadel Abu al-Qumsan has survived two attacks in the
past four years.</p>
<p>Early on 3 August 2014, Israel <a
href="https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=1603">bombed</a>
his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp of northern
Gaza. Two of his nieces and his brother-in-law were
killed.</p>
<p>In recent months, Fadel, 53, and his family have once
again been hurt by Israeli state violence.</p>
<p>On 6 April 2018, Fadel joined the <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/great-march-return">Great
March of Return</a> to demand that Palestinians
uprooted by Zionist forces in 1948 be allowed to
return home.</p>
<p>At approximately 3 pm, he fell to the ground
screaming. He had been shot in the leg by an Israeli
sniper.</p>
<p>Fadel was roughly 700 meters from the boundary fence
between Gaza and Israel at the time.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the bullet which hit Fadel in April this
year did not cause major damage.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>“I will never forget the fear”</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Fifteen Palestinians were <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-kills-15-palestinians-gaza">massacred</a>
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.</p>
<p>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 <a
href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/Dayr-Sunayd/index.html">expelled</a>
by Zionist forces when they occupied the village in
1948.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<h2>“No comfort”</h2>
<p>Laila Hassaballah was living just a few meters away
from the Abu al-Qumsan family in 2014.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Now aged 30, he is studying for a master’s degree in
police science at Gaza’s Ummah Open University.</p>
<figure id="file-67331"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small><span></span></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The bullet which struck Ahmad, 25, has damaged his
nerves and arteries. He is awaiting permission to
visit Egypt for treatment.</p>
<p>With severe <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/gazas-health-sector-near-collapse/24606">shortages</a>
of medicine, equipment and fuel in Gaza’s hospitals,
Ahmad is unable to receive all the assistance he
requires locally.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<h2>“We didn’t know where to go”</h2>
<p>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 <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/us-adopts-lethal-israeli-tactic-protect-civilians">euphemism</a>.</p>
<p>Through that tactic, a building was bombed as a
prelude to a deadlier assault.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<figure id="file-67321"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small><span></span></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>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.</p>
<p>They had to borrow heavily so that they could finish
the job. As a result, the family is about $50,000 in
debt.</p>
<p>Abu Khater, 26, works as a photojournalist with <em>Quds
Press</em> and has documented the Great March of
Return at considerable risk.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>On another occasion, an Israeli sniper shot at his
motorbike, causing its fuel tank to explode.</p>
<p>He has also been asphyxiated by tear gas – a <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-testing-new-types-tear-gas-bethlehem/22856">chemical
weapon</a> which Israel has fired liberally on
Palestinians – a number of times in recent months.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“Losing my house and my injuries will not stop me
from covering Israeli war crimes.”</p>
<p><em>Hamza Abu Eltarabesh is a journalist and writer
from Gaza.</em></p>
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