Deir el-Balah, Gaza – At dawn on Saturday, Israeli planes bombed a mosque located next to makeshift tents sheltering displaced people in the town of Deir el-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The bombing killed a young woman and injured 20 others. They were transferred to the city’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
The 33-year-old Walaa Saada was known for her community and humanitarian efforts during the war. She was killed in her tent while sleeping next to her mother, Yosra Abu Saada, who was injured in the attack.
“My daughter Walaa and I had dinner together before going to bed.” Yosra told Tel Aviv Tribune. “Walaa would stay awake and work on some lists of displaced people in need on her laptop. »
Suddenly, Yosra woke up to piles of stones raining down on her from the shelling, while dust covered the surrounding area and their tent collapsed on them.
“I didn’t realize what was happening around me. I thought I was dreaming, but I controlled myself and started calling my daughter Walaa, but she didn’t respond.
“People and paramedics rushed to our aid. I was desperately calling for Walaa until I saw his lifeless body lying on the ground, soaked in his own blood,” Yosra said while crying.
In a nearby tent, Mahmoud Saadeh, 60, and his family were sleeping before finding themselves thrown to the ground by the explosion.
“I woke up and found myself far away (from our tent) with my family members. Everyone was shouting and the children too,” says Mahmoud. “The rubble of the mosque completely razed our tents. »
Suffering serious chest injuries, Mahmoud received limited medical treatment at the hospital due to a lack of supplies and resources. “The medical staff were overwhelmed. Some nurses treated us with the little they had. But resources were scarce, so we left.
“As you can see, our tents were completely burned and we lost all our belongings with which we had fled from one area to another. Now we don’t know where we will go.
The displaced people of Deir el-Balah came from all over Gaza, forced to flee under the Israeli attack.
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 30,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, and international condemnation of Israel’s targeting of civilian areas has increased as the war persists.