RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza- Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a bloody war on the Gaza Strip, killing, injuring and displacing tens of thousands Palestinians.

At least 53,939 people, including at least 16,500 children, have been killed in Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 and there are still thousands of dead bodies trapped under the rubble of the destroyed buildings, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

On November 18, 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit the house of Warda Masoud, killing her 19-year-old daughter, Alaa Masoud. Alaa Masoud’s dead body is still trapped under the rubble. All attempts by Warda Masoud to recover her daughter’s dead body buried under rubble have been rejected due to lack of equipment. Warda Masoud demands her daughter’s body be recovered from rubble to bury her and have a death certificate.

Warda Masoud told us how her daughter was killed in the airstrike in tears while cooking something for her daughter in the courtyard of a house. “My daughter was studying physiotherapy at university. She always had a smiling face and took care of patients. She loved children.”

‘My angel ascended to the heavens’

When talking about her daughter, Warda Masoud said, “My angel ascended to the heavens”. “If Alaa were here, she would work at hospitals and health centers to help people.” The husband of Warda Masoud was injured in his back in the same airstrike. Warda Masoud is not the only breadwinner of her family because her husband cannot work anymore.

Warda Masoud asked why Israel attacked them. “They (the Israeli forces) killed my daughter and destroyed my house. We are civilians having no link with any organizations. We wanted to stay in our house; however, the Israeli forces destroyed our house.”

“All I want is to have a grave to commemorate my daughter and to plant flowers on her grave.”