mezan /17 March 2024
Mahmoud, a 64-year-old father of seven sons and three daughters, lives with his family in an apartment within a 5-story building in Jabaliya refugee camp. The building belongs to him, his siblings, and their children. On 15 October 2023, an Israeli attack on Jabaliya refugee camp killed Mahmoud's two sons, son-in-law, grandson, and six nephews. Many others, including him, his wife, and two of his children sustained injuries and were hospitalized at Al-Shifa Hospital and Indonesian Hospital.
In a harrowing testimony provided to Al Mezan fieldworkers in February 2024, he recounted Israeli forces besieging and raiding the Indonesian Hospital, as well as their multiple forced displacements throughout Gaza:
“Following Israel’s declaration of war on Gaza, I remained in my home for about a week. During that time, I monitored the news and events and was trying to secure my family’s basic need for water and food. The situation grew increasingly concerning due to the escalation of attacks and the intense airstrikes targeting civilian homes without warning or reason. The daily toll of casualties continued to rise rapidly.
On the evening of 15 October 2023, I was woken by a powerful explosion. I found myself lying, feeling disoriented, on the street, surrounded by dust and thick smoke. The extent of what had occurred only became clear to me on reaching the hospital.
At the hospital, I received treatment for injuries I had sustained. It was then that I received the devastating news; my two sons, Diaa , 22, and Tamer, 20, who used to live with me and were both unmarried, had been killed. Additionally, my 5-year-old grandson, Mohannad, as well as my daughter’s husband and six of my nephews had been killed. Meanwhile, my wife and my two other children, Mounir, 7, and Noor, sustained serious injuries. Noor suffered bleeding on the brain and a fractured pelvis.
We were all transferred to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, except for my wife and daughter, who were admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. As my own health condition gradually improved over the course of a week, I chose to remain at the hospital to support and be near my injured family members, especially after my wife and daughter were brought back to the Indonesian Hospital to complete their treatment.
After Israel initiated its ground invasion in northern Gaza, Israeli forces and tanks approached the hospital. We could hear huge and excessive explosions in the vicinity of the hospital. Subsequently, the tanks reached the hospital’s walls and gate, effectively encircling it and preventing entry and exit for about 10 days.
During those 10 days, we endured fear, hunger and thirst. The hospital housed a significant number of patients, companions of patients, displaced people and doctors. Food was scarce. In the initial days of the siege, we could have just one meal a day. Later, our share dwindled to seven dates per person daily. The limited food supply was stored in one of the rooms on the third floor of the hospital, but access to that floor was restricted for our safety. Israeli snipers shot several people who had attempted to reach this floor. Throughout the days of the siege, one of the rooms on the second floor of the hospital was attacked, and several people killed. Gas and sound grenades were repeatedly thrown into the hospital’s corridors. We lived through extremely challenging and harrowing days under the siege, and our lives were constantly endangered.
On the tenth day of the siege, at about 3 pm, buses and ambulances of the Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) arrived at the hospital after coordinating with the occupation forces. We were taken by these buses to the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. On the way, we reached the checkpoint on Salah al-Din Road. There, we disembarked from the buses, and Israeli soldiers led us in a queue to the inspection room, where our identities were verified. I saw Israeli soldiers detaining some who had entered the inspection room before me. After passing through the checkpoint, night had fallen, and we had to walk a very long distance on foot. We felt extreme fatigue and cold during the journey. On the outskirts of Khan Younis, we found a car that transported us to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza at around 1 am. My daughter Noor needed to complete her treatment, and so was admitted to the surgery department of the hospital. We stayed with her until 7 December 2023, and then moved to Shuhada Rafah School in Rafah, near Al-Awda roundabout. We have remained there until now.
The school, when we arrived, was already overcrowded, and the shelter’s supervisors informed us that we could not be accommodated. However, after telling them the story about what we have been through, they sympathized and gave us a small space inside a classroom that already housed 45 displaced people from several families. We could not find a place to sleep in the classroom, as we had no mattresses or blankets, and so had to take turns resting. We had arrived at the school with only the clothes on our backs.
After enduring these tragic conditions for days, a kind-hearted benefactor generously donated a sum of money to us. With this we were able to set up a tent made of asbestos within the school grounds. The donor also provided us with two mattresses and blankets. Currently, eight of us live inside the tent, which measures 3 m2. Four of my sons and their families remain in northern Gaza and have been unable to move to the south. Our communication with them has been sporadic; sometimes weeks or even months pass without contact, leaving us in the dark as to their wellbeing and living conditions. In our latest conversation, one of my sons informed me that the price of a sack of flour had reached 1,000 ILS ($277) within the shelter he currently lives in. He also mentioned the risks of moving outside the shelter because of the presence of snipers. We have been living in fear and anxiety for over 100 days, and we fervently hope this war will end.”
Mahmoud and all the names mentioned in this testimony are pseudonyms. The actual identities of the victims are known to Al Mezan but are not disclosed in order to protect their anonymity and ensure their safety.