Rafah, Gaza Strip – Shehab, 19, stands having a look uncertainly on the digicam, as though not sure if it is going to harm him or whether or not he desires to percentage his ache.
“My identify is Shehab Omar Abu al-Hanud,” he starts. “My mom died. Her identify is Ghada Youssef Ahmed Abu al-Hanud.”
He’s very narrow and rarely out of boyhood, with sparse facial hair, asymmetric enamel, and a distinguished Adam’s apple that he has but to develop into. His gaze wavers as he delivers the road that’s the reason for this interview.
Translation: The Closing Farewell
A photograph and video of Shehab clinging to the shrouded frame of his mom on a medical institution mattress in Rafah, oblivious to the blood seeping during the shroud, closing Monday had ricocheted round social media.
He spent greater than an hour maintaining her tight, no longer responding to any individual, no longer stirring in any respect in his deep surprise.
1000’s had been moved by way of the sight of his loss and ache, titling it The Closing Farewell. It used to be briefly rendered as a portray and video of his determined include set to heartbreaking track.
The photograph of Shehab Omar Abu al-Hanud not able to let cross of his mom’s shrouded frame broke hearts in all places [Ahmed Abdullah Mohsen/Al Jazeera]
Shehab
Shehab’s hair is well-cut and neat, as are his garments – he used to be properly looked after by way of his mom, Ghada.
It’s obvious that he is making an attempt to be “grown-up” and regulate his feelings, however that effort begins to turn immediately as he starts to inform the tale of dropping his mom.
That he’s very connected to her is simply as obvious, even ahead of he tells Al Jazeera what she manner to him and all the circle of relatives.
“She used to be the whole thing to me,” he stated. “She used to be my mom and my sister and my pal. Existence with out her has no that means.
Ramadan is coming … with out my mom. Then Eid … with out my mom. No person can really feel what I’m going via.
“I’ve a proper to have a mom … a proper to reside with my mom.”
Shehab Omar Abu al-Hanud stood amid the destruction to talk to Al Jazeera in regards to the loss of life of his mom [Screengrab/Sanad/Al Jazeera]
Ghada, he stated, used to be “an angel in human shape” who used to be at all times there to assist individuals who wanted her, content material to assist them silently with out hard any credit score.
That this angel used to be taken from them remains to be past Shehab’s comprehension, and it’s small comfort for him to post to God’s will and remind himself that God chooses the nice.
His effort to carry again his tears falters as he speaks to Al Jazeera, his hazel eyes filling and clearing as he blinks them away.
Ghada
Ghada used to be the one individual killed within the construction the place 45 folks had been sheltering that night time.
Till in a while ahead of the assault, she were staying along with her folks in Tal as-Sultan, however she had come again to Rafah to be along with her youngsters and husband.
The 4 of them had been asleep in a single room, folks at the mattress and Shehab and his more youthful brother on a bed at the ground.
Shehab had no longer long past to sleep but and used to be unsleeping and scrolling via his telephone when the primary strike came about, touchdown in the back of the home to hit the mosque there.
Everybody were given up, dashing out of the room. However his mom paused: she sought after to position on her isdal prayer gown to hide herself ahead of she left the home.
Shehab Omar Abu al-Hanud remains to be in surprise over what’s now a ‘existence with out that means’ after the loss of life of his mom, Ghada Youssef Ahmed Abu al-Hanud [Screengrab/Sanad/Al Jazeera]
She didn’t also have sufficient time to tug the gown over her head ahead of every other strike hit and particles rained down on everybody.
It looked like she had disappeared, and Shehab’s fast of hope that she had gotten out used to be briefly dashed they usually discovered Ghada underneath a cloth wardrobe that had fallen on best of her.
“We saved calling her identify, begging her to speak to us however she wasn’t in a position to reply. She used to be very badly injured,” Shehab stated.
His father lifted Ghada onto his shoulder to get her to the medical institution, however they made positive to prevent on the door to hide her with the gown as she were looking to do.
The medical institution used to be overflowing with injured folks, however they had been in the end in a position to get a stretcher to take her to the tent the place injured folks had been being handled.
A person reacts subsequent to the our bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli moves at Abu Yousef Al-Najjar medical institution in Rafah on February 12, 2024 [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
There, the physician in rate took one have a look at her and informed them there used to be no hope and that she will have to be moved to the tent the place deceased folks’s our bodies had been. Ghada used to be nonetheless respiring, however the physician had apparently made the painful resolution to save lots of what sources the medical institution had for any individual much more likely to live on.
The circle of relatives fought again, protesting and pushing till the physician relented, ordered her moved again to the remedy tent and put her on intravenous fluids and oxygen. She controlled to stick alive an extra 40 mins, having a look at her circle of relatives as though she had a variety of issues she wanted she may just say.
Praying over her, maintaining her shut and whispering in her ear, Shehab stayed along with his mom till “she left, her soul went to God’s mercy”.
Displacement
The Abu al-Hanuds used to survive Shuhada Boulevard in Gaza Town.
The combating had driven them to the Nuseirat refugee camp, then directly to Rafah.
To begin with, once they had been in Nuseirat, that they had was hoping they may head again to Shuhada Boulevard, however the state of affairs remained terrifying they usually heard that everybody used to be to stay transferring south.
So, they headed to Rafah.
Shehab’s face twists when he recollects that that they had been informed that Rafah could be a secure space.
“They even hit the mosque, and not using a caution,” he says in his blameless anger.
