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A mother struggles alone to provide for her children after her husband’s abduction by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza

Tuesday 2-April-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The exhausted mother, Lubna, wandered among the tents of displaced people in the south of the Gaza Strip, carrying her young daughter, her face filled with confusion and suffering evident in her tired features, seeking someone to help her grind her flour.

Lubna Dalloul, a new mother at 32, lives in a tent with her children, without a provider after her husband, Mu'hammed Dalloul, 40, was abducted by the Israeli occupation forces during displacement, leaving her alone drowning in responsibility and difficult tasks.

The beginning of the tragedy

Lubna says, “On October 7, 2023, I was surprised to hear successive explosions as I was preparing my children to go to school, and we were waiting to find out the source of these sounds and their cause until I received a message on the phone announcing the suspension of school. I began following the news to find out what had happened.”

“On the same evening, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) began shelling various areas of Gaza, and the residents of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood (where Lubna and her family live) began to flee to schools because their homes are close to the border,” according to her account to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

On 13/10/2023, the IOFs distributed flyers urging people to head south, where Lubna and her family saw their neighbors leaving the neighborhood, but her husband chose to stay at home because they didn’t know anyone in the southern areas, in addition to her being pregnant and having young children, so where could they go with them?!

Lubna added, “On the morning of 30/10/2023, my son Malik, 9, and I went out to fetch some necessary items from around the house, and at the same time an Israeli aircraft targeted the nearby Yaseen family’s house with several missiles, and the place was filled with smoke and rocks rained down on us.”

The mother describes her son’s condition, saying, “My son started screaming, but I couldn’t see him at first because of the intensity of the smoke and dust, so I thought he was scared, and I tried to comfort him as I attempted to hold him close to my chest, but I found his face covered in blood, and his right eye was out of its socket.”

At this point, the desperate mother rushed her son to Al-Shifa Hospital, where she learned from the doctors that shrapnel had entered his eye, and after necessary X-rays, he was transferred to the eye hospital, where he underwent surgery. He lost vision in his right eye, but it requires regular cleaning and the application of a special ointment to prevent infection, in addition to the need for it to be covered.

Husband’s abduction

Due to the continued bombing, fire belts, and buildings collapsing on their occupants, and the scarcity and high cost of goods, the mother decided on 01/11/2023 to head to the Fala'h School, a crowded shelter with a medical point. Lubna says, “We cooperated there to manage our basic needs, especially in providing food and water.”

But being in the shelter did not help them, for on 16/11/2023, while they were inside the school, the IOFs began random shelling on the school from its vehicles, resulting in the deaths of dozens, creating a state of tension and extreme fear among the displaced people, who began fleeing the school.

Lubna said, “On 17/11/2023, my husband and his brother decided that we should leave the school and head south, and the destination was Al-Nusayrat, where some relatives live. We all got on a horse-drawn cart and reached the Kuwait roundabout, and from there we walked on foot.”

She added, “A large number of people were heading south, and the IOFs soldiers were scattered around, and on the edges of the street, there were sand barriers behind which soldiers stood, in addition to tanks and jeeps.”

Lubna described their approach to the safe passage by saying, “My children were with their father, who was carrying the little Maya, and they passed through the safe passage before me, but when I crossed, I couldn’t find him, so I searched among the passersby for my husband and children, but to no avail, and I didn’t find my husband’s brother either.”

Here, Lubna decided to go to her relatives’ house, thinking she would find her family there, but she didn’t find them, so she went to Al-Nusayrat School, run by UNRWA, and was surprised to find it crowded with displaced people, but she refused to leave the school, and she explained to them that she was a stranger and knew nothing about her husband and children, in addition to being pregnant.

Lubna added, “The next day, my husband’s brother came to the school with my children and told me that the IOFs had abducted my husband while passing through the safe passage, and they asked him to leave his children and go talk to the soldiers, and suddenly they took him and my children remained in the street, and my husband’s brother saw them sitting on the sidewalk crying out of fear.”

Journey of suffering

Lubna describes how the days began to be very difficult and heavy, as the family breadwinner was arrested by the IOF while she was in the last months of pregnancy, with children in need of care, in addition to her injured child who needs special care after losing his eye. The injury site needs cleaning and sterilization to protect it from contamination that could lead to infections.

As the bombing was intense in Nusayrat, with several houses being bombed every day, and entire families being martyred, the woman decided on 10/1/2024 to move to Rafa'h, helped by her husband’s nephew, who arranged for her pieces of nylon and wood, and made her a small tent to live in with her children.

Describing their difficult situation, she said, “I relied on the food coupon distributed once a month, which consists of canned beans, peas, hummus, and halva, and bags of flour from UNRWA, where I knead and wait for my turn at the bread queue at the mud oven or the firewood available in the (refugee) camp.”

She added, “My eldest son, Mu’tasim, goes daily to the charity to stand in line and wait a long time to bring cooked food for his siblings, which is often lentils, beans, or peas, as I cannot afford to buy gas or even firewood to cook for them due to high prices.”

Here, Lubna suddenly fell silent, leaving her tears that drowned her thin face to express her feelings of misery, pain, worry, and fear, then she said, “I didn’t expect all this suffering to await me, especially after my husband’s arrest, and that my life would turn upside down.”

A smile at the heart of the ordeal

About the birth of her daughter in these circumstances, the mother said, “On 04/02/2024, I began to experience labor symptoms, and although I had gone through this experience before, this time it was the hardest, as I was alone in the tent, and there was no one to support or console me. The pain was severe and continuous, and I felt shortness of breath, and my body was weak due to lack of food, so I couldn’t get up.”

She added, “Suddenly, I screamed loudly, and a woman from the neighboring tent rushed to me and helped me stand up, as I was lying on the sand inside the tent, and there was no mattress to lie on, but I had some blankets distributed by the agency, which I spread for my children to sleep on.”

At this point, her neighbor took her out of the tent and brought a chair for her to sit on, before an ambulance passing by chance stopped to take her to the Emirati hospital in Rafa'h.

The mother describes the situation then, saying, “We sat in the waiting room of the hospital, crowded with dozens of women experiencing labor pains without the slightest care, and after an hour or more, a bed was available for me to go through the labor stage alone without care or attention.”

Lubna added, “I cried a lot from the pain and from the cold… I cried because I was alone… I cried for my children whom I left alone in the tent… and I cried even more because I didn’t have clothes or diapers for my newborn daughter.”

After the birth, by the will and power of Allah, the mother had to take her daughter Maria and leave the hospital, as there was no waiting, as there were women in pain waiting for an empty bed.

Lubna returned to her tent to embark on a life that is even more difficult and complicated, as she does not have the money to buy milk, diapers, sanitary pads, or even clothes for her newborn daughter.

She said, “My movement outside the tent became difficult to take care of my children, for if I went out, I had to take my daughter, who could get sick due to the cold, weather fluctuations, and inhaling smoke due to burning firewood.”

Lubna continues to communicate with the Red Cross to find out the fate of her husband, whom she eagerly awaits his release to alleviate the burden laid on her shoulders.

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Humanitarian organizations confirm systematic Israeli attacks

Thursday 4-April-2024

AMMAN, (PIC)

Representatives of several humanitarian organizations said on Wednesday that the Israeli attack that led to the killing of western relief workers demonstrates, above all, that non-governmental organizations operate in an unsafe environment in the devastated and besieged Gaza Strip, where many of them have been targeted since the beginning of the war.

The American organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) said that its employees were bombed after leaving a warehouse in Dair El-Bala'h in central Gaza Strip, where they had unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid. The vehicles carrying them bore the logo of the charitable organization that coordinated their movement with the Israeli occupation army.

Benjamin Godin, an official with the International First Aid organization, said, “The humanitarian community feels endangered in carrying out its operations in Gaza since October 7th of last year.”

Camilla Dogliotti, from the organization Handicap International, which was targeted by airstrikes at its headquarters in Gaza City at the end of January, said, “The level of risks faced by humanitarian workers is extremely high in certain areas of southern and central Gaza, and unacceptable in all other areas.”

She added that “the attack on the WCK organization is primarily a result of Israel’s continuous non-compliance with international humanitarian law and failure to provide the required protection for civilians, including humanitarian workers.”

Claire Magone, spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, stated that the organization has recorded 21 strikes targeting hospitals or clinics that benefit from their support, as well as ambulance vehicles. The Israeli authorities have been informed of all these attacks as required.

Magone further stated, “The level of danger we face in Gaza is unprecedented in the history of Doctors Without Borders.”

She pointed out that “5 Palestinian employees of the organization have been killed, either in Israeli airstrikes or by gunfire at close range at an Israeli checkpoint.”

The Israeli occupation army continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip, with American and European support, as its aircraft bombard the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers, and Palestinian civilian homes, destroying them over the heads of their residents, and preventing the entry of water, food, medicine, and fuel.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza has so far resulted in the death of 32,975 citizens and the injury of 75,577 others, in addition to the displacement of about 85% of the population of the Strip, according to the authorities of the Strip, international bodies, and organizations.

Chef José Andrés: Direct attack

Renowned chef José Andrés, the WCK founder, called on Israel to open the land crossings for aid and to stop killing civilians. In an op-ed published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday, he said, “The strikes, which resulted in the killing of 6 international relief workers and their Palestinian driver, were not just an unfortunate mistake in the fog of war.”

Andrés said, “It was a direct attack on vehicles with clear markings, and the Israeli army knew their movements. It was also a direct result of its government’s policy of reducing humanitarian aid to abysmal levels.”

He called on the Israeli government to open land routes for food and medicine today, adding that it must stop killing civilians and relief workers.

“You cannot save hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this war by starving the entire population,” he added.

He pointed out that his charity provides meals to the needy around the world, including in Israel after the attack that led to the war.

Unacceptable

In the Qatari capital, Doha, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, “Israel’s explanations about the killing of 7 employees of the World Central Kitchen in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip are insufficient and unacceptable,” demanding more details.

Sanchez said on Wednesday in a press briefing during his visit to Qatar, “That is unacceptable and insufficient, and we are awaiting a stronger and more detailed explanation, and then we will consider what measures we will take.”

Reprimand for Israel

Canada and a number of other countries intend to reprimand Israel for killing relief workers in Gaza last Monday, while the US administration avoided criticizing the Israeli crime, affirming its continued “support for Israel’s right to self-defense”. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation army leaders admitted that their soldiers “do as they please.”

The Associated Press quoted a senior official in the Canadian government as saying on Wednesday that “Canadian embassies and those of other countries will jointly present an official diplomatic reprimand to the Israeli Foreign Ministry because of the killing of 7 relief workers in Gaza.”

The official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said, “A senior official in the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also lodged a formal protest with the Israeli ambassador to Canada on Tuesday,” but he did not specify the other countries that would participate in the official reprimand.

Sonak: We are studying declaring Israel a violator of international law

For his part, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that London is studying the declaration of Israel as a violator of international law.

Sunak told Netanyahu that without increasing aid, he would be forced to declare that Israel is violating international law.

He also emphasized that Britain supports the elimination of Hamas but not at the expense of a humanitarian catastrophe.

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Human rights organizations reveal the plight of 94 detained Palestinian children in Megiddo

Tuesday 26-March-2024

RAMALLAH, (PIC)

The Commission of detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society have stated that the Israeli prison administration continues to impose punitive measures on child prisoners, which are no less severe than those imposed on adult prisoners since October 7th. They are held in bare cells, isolated, and deprived of family visits, while thousands of prisoners continue to be denied family visits.

During a recent visit to one of the child prisoners in Megiddo Prison, it was revealed that the number of child prisoners in Megiddo has reached 94, including 24 children from Gaza, detained in two rooms or cells.

Current conditions faced by children The Commission and the Society emphasized in a joint statement on Monday that the administration of Megiddo Prison deliberately brings in child prisoners for visits with their hands and feet bound and blindfolded. Upon arrival at the visitation room, their blindfolds are removed, but their hands are still bound in front of them, while their feet remain shackled. Despite legal demands to remove restraints during visits, the prison administration informed legal teams that these were new procedures.

During a recent visit, a lawyer insisted on the removal of restraints from the child’s hands to allow for easier communication. This procedure was previously applied by the prison administration to prisoners classified as “dangerous.”

Child prisoners: “We only knew the beginning of Ramadan from new prisoners”

The Israeli prison administration intensifies isolation through depriving prisoners of basic means of communication, such as radios and televisions, causing them to lose track of time and even the date. According to a visit with one child, they only knew the beginning of Ramadan from new prisoners arriving in the section. They had no way of knowing the time for iftar (breaking the fast) or suhoor (pre-dawn meal) due to the absence of clocks. They relied on glimpses of sunlight through small windows to determine these times. They also depended on audio communication with children from Gaza (in nearby cells) to know the iftar time, as one of them would recite the call to prayer when it was time.

Child prisoners face a policy of starvation implemented by the prison administration after October 7th. The food quality and quantity are poor, mainly consisting of rice. During Ramadan, child prisoners collect their three meals and divide them for iftar and suhoor according to each cell’s needs, despite being in a growth period and needing adequate nutrition.

Child prisoners: “Our Suhoor in Ramadhan is in darkness”

One notable measure implemented by the prison administration post-October 7th is cutting off electricity, providing limited lighting for a few hours in the evening, and turning off lights in the section at 10 PM. According to a child prisoner, “Our su'hoor in Ramadhan is in darkness.”

Furthermore, the prison administration confiscated all clothes from prisoners and prohibited them from bringing in new clothes. This measure affected child prisoners, as they only have the clothes they wear. Their shoes were also confiscated.

Continued raids on child prisoners’ cells

Physical assault against prisoners remains a prominent policy post-October 7th, targeting both adult and child prisoners. The suppression units continue to raid child prisoners’ cells suddenly, subjecting them to further abuse.

It is worth mentioning that the number of Palestinian child prisoners in the Israeli occupation regime prisons is around 200, including over 40 children under administrative detention, held in Megiddo and Ofer prisons. The number of arrests among children from the West Bank after October 7th has reached around 500.

In this context, the Commission and the Society reiterated their demands to international human rights organizations to live up to their responsibilities regarding the violations and crimes against prisoners, especially children, which have escalated unprecedentedly after October 7th.