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Gaza City – In May 2021, the occupied Gaza Strip underwent a renewed bloodshed and destruction when Israel launched a destroyer. 11 days of military attack in the besieged enclave.
This was the fourth major offensive launched by Israel in Palestinian territory in 14 years, adding to the severe living conditions in Gaza and the high rates of poverty and unemployment in Gaza, which have been under Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007.
The attack in May killed at least 260 people, including 39 women and 67 children, and injured more than 1,900, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The bombing destroyed 1,800 housing units and partially demolished at least another 14,300 units.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced to take refuge in schools run by the United Nations.
About seven months later, the reconstruction process has begun slowly, although many materials that Israel says could also be used for military purposes have continued to be blocked from entering Gaza.
Intermediate talks in Egypt have failed to achieve a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian group that rules Gaza, and tensions remain high.
Many people have been left in Gaza to face the aftermath of the 11-day attack, including many young people who have been seriously injured.
Al Jazeera spoke to three young men who were injured in the attack and were left with permanent disabilities to discuss what they suffered and what they hope for in the new year.
“Mom, I’d like to see your face”
Mohammed Shaban’s only wish for the new year is to be able to see it again. The seven-year-old boy lost his sight in May on the first day of the Israeli attack.
That day, Mohammed went out with his mother, 35-year-old Somayya, to buy clothes for him and his siblings.
“She was very happy and couldn’t wait to go home to show her new shoes to her sisters,” Somayya told Al Jazeera.
“Suddenly, a big explosion hit the area. I couldn’t remember what happened. Dust, chaos, people shouting, blood … ”
Somayya stopped talking for a moment, then continued. “I remembered Mohammed, I started shouting, ‘Where’s my son? Where’s my son?'”
Mohammed’s eyes were seriously injured when an Israeli airstrike struck two people on a motorcycle in the Jabala, north of the Gaza Strip. He was taken to hospital.
“His face was full of blood and his eyes were bloodied. I lost consciousness when I saw him, ”Somayya said.
After several attempts, the doctors decided that Mohammed’s vision could not be preserved and that his eyes had to be removed.
“I can’t stop crying every time I see him. He asks his siblings, “Why do I see only black darkness? Why can’t I go to school? ‘
“Last night, he said, ‘Mom, I wish I could see your face.’
Somayya Shaban, Mohammed’s mother, cries as she recounts their ordeal [Mohammed Salem/Al Jazeera]Mohammed was recently admitted to a school for visually impaired children, but his mother has no hope for the new year.
“After what I’ve seen so far this year, I can’t expect anything better. Our days are the same. I believe that the fate of Gaza is to face more torture and suffering, ”he said.
He said his only wish for 2022 would be to see Mohammed again. “I wish I could give her my eyes.”
A report Defense for Children International (DCIP) said that 2021, the death of 86 Palestinian children in the occupied territory, was the deadliest year on record since 2014.
“In the 11-day military attack, Israeli forces killed Palestinian children with shells fired from tanks, live ammunition and missiles fired from armed drones and US warplanes and Apache helicopters,” May said in a report on the attack, called Operation Guardian. One of the walls.
“I want to be a doctor when I grow up”
Farah Isleem, 12, feels more optimistic about the new year, despite losing her leg in May 2021.
“It was around six in the morning. I was asleep. I suddenly woke up with an explosion. I couldn’t move. Everyone was shouting at me, “he told Al Jazeera.
An Israeli attack hit Farah’s house on the fifth floor of a building in the al-Sabra district of central Gaza.
Hazem Isleem, Farah’s father, is a security guard at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. That night, Hazem was at work, with patients and people evacuating from the bombed-out areas.
Farah’s father helps her wear her prosthetic leg [File: Mohammed Salem/Al Jazeera]Her seven children were taken to hospital after the bombing. Six had minor injuries, but Farah was badly injured.
“When I first saw him, I realized he had to have his leg amputated,” he said. “It broke and there was severe bleeding.”
Farah was given a medical reference in Jordan, where she traveled with her mother for three days after being injured.
After trying to save his leg for 15 days, the doctors decided he needed to be cut. A prosthetic body was later fitted to his leg.
“Imagine your beautiful, intelligent child being cut off by this young man. It’s a very hard feeling, ”Hazem said.
Farah Isleem puts prosthetic leg on home in Gaza City [File: Mohammed Salem/Al Jazeera]Farah returns from Jordan in a month, his family and school organized a reception party for the reception.
“Now my main focus is on school studies,” Farah told Al Jazeera. “I have some obstacles going up and down the stairs, but my family always helps me.”
Farah told Al Jazeera before he was injured that he feared seeing blood and wounds. But now he wants to be a doctor, and his New Year’s wish is to learn English well, because it will help him achieve his dream.
“I was so hurt during the treatment process. But thank God everything is fine now, ”he said with a smile.
According to UNICEF, before the escalation of the violence, one in three children in Gaza already needed help with the traumas associated with the conflict. The UN stressed the need for mental health and psychosocial support for children with serious life-threatening conditions.
The organization also said that tens of thousands of children in Gaza would need humanitarian aid to access drinking water and basic sanitation due to the lack of electricity in the besieged territory that affects water production.
Mahmoud Naim, 18, lay in his bed after punching his back with shrapnel [File: Mohammed Salem/Al Jazeera]‘I’d like to walk again’
Eighteen-year-old Mahmoud Naim is lying on his back in bed, unable to move.
He is crippled and cannot feel the lower part of his body because he hit the shrapnel of an Israeli howitzer on his back on May 18 and punctured parts of his stomach.
“I went out to buy bread for my brothers and sisters. I saw a friend and I stopped there to talk to him. Suddenly there was an explosion. I don’t remember anything, “Mahmoud told Al Jazeera.
“My life has been turned upside down,” he said.
Mahmoud was in the intensive care unit for several days before being sent to Egypt for further treatment. She underwent seven surgeries and still needs intensive physiotherapy sessions and medication.
The shrapnel is stuck to Mahmud’s back. They need to be removed as soon as possible to improve their condition.
“I can’t move on my own today. My mother helps me, but so do my brothers [too] young, ”he said.
“Sometimes I stay in bed if I want to move in waiting for my cousins to come.”
Before he was injured, Mahmoud worked in a shop to help his family. His father has been ill for a long time and his condition worsened after his son’s injury.
Mahmoud told Al Jazeera that the shell he had struck was not Israeli, but a Palestinian who had just hit it.
“There was a constant state of war, all of them were bombed and terrified, and all the victims were innocent,” he said.
“Despite what has happened to me, I am optimistic that the beginning of 2022 will be a new beginning every year.
“Enough war and enough on the Gaza Strip. I hope that peace of mind will prevail, that our living conditions will improve and that I would like to walk again. ”
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