Deir el-Balah, Gaza – The two weeks since the June 8 Nuseirat massacre, in which Israeli forces killed at least 274 Palestinians to free four Israeli captives, have brought no healing to the survivors.
More than 500 additional Palestinians were injured in the attack, filling the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, with every inch of the ground covered with people suffering, bleeding and screaming.
Many injured people are still in hospital. Here are some of their stories.
Raghad
Raghad al-Assar, a 12-year-old girl, lay motionless with her head bandaged.
She was hit during the Israeli bombing which targeted her house during the massacre. Her father Mohammad, 46, stood beside her, barely able to speak. Two of his daughters were killed in the massacre, and his wife and another daughter, Rahaf, are in critical condition and are hospitalized in intensive care.
Mohammad, who sells clothes at the Nuseirat camp market, described the sudden chaos as drones and quadcopters targeted people in the market, with explosions everywhere.
He huddled in his store as he tried to call his family to check on him, to no avail.
“I was looking at the street and seeing people falling and hearing them screaming and pleading…no one understood what was happening,” Mohammad said.
His eyes filled with tears as he remembered a relative calling to tell him their home had been hit and two of his daughters had been killed.
“I didn’t understand what I was hearing. I ran under the bombardments, trying to take a shortcut, but it was too crazy. People were running, falling under heavy fire, right in front of me.
About two hours later, Mohammad finally arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital – and witnessed scenes of carnage.
“There was blood everywhere, victims, wounded, body parts and screams of agony… everywhere… there was nowhere to put your foot. It was like Resurrection Day,” he said.
Mohammad desperately searched for his family, only to find his injured wife and daughter.
But Raghad was missing.
Mohammad was frantic, his relatives joining him in searching everywhere, scanning the wounded lying in the corridors and checking the bodies in preparation for a hasty burial.
“We finally found her after midnight. She was on the ground, unconscious. There were dead bodies and wounded everywhere. At first, they thought she was dead.
“I lost two daughters so they could free four Israeli captives. Now I am afraid of losing my wife and remaining daughter due to lack of medical care,” Mohammad lamented.
Ahmed
Ahmed Abu Hujair, 32, was on his way to the market to buy vegetables and essentials when the world turned upside down around him.
“Suddenly, quadcopters and helicopters appeared. I saw armed men disguised as vendors appear in the market and open fire directly on people,” Ahmed said.
“The market was crowded, especially at that time. So many people were hurt, falling, screaming. »
Before Ahmed could understand what was happening, he was shot five times in the legs.
He stood there bleeding with hundreds of injured people for more than an hour before ambulances could come in and take them to hospital, and explained that he was in and out of consciousness from blood loss.
It was like Black Hawk Down, Ahmed said, a real-life mimic of the famous 2001 war film. But the helicopters weren’t there to help Ahmed.
“They were shooting directly at us, with huge bullets,” says Ahmed. “My right leg was almost shattered from top to bottom by three bullets, and my left leg was seriously injured by two bullets. »
Seven members of Ahmed’s family were killed by Israeli bombs on their home in Nuseirat about two months ago: his mother, sisters and brothers.
“My father and I miraculously survived, but he is still suffering,” Ahmed said. “How much longer do we have to endure?” Was this massacre really inflicted to be able to recover four people?
Ghazal
Sixteen-year-old Ghazal al-Ghussein stared outside with sightless eyes. Shrapnel hit her in the head as Israel bombed indiscriminately during the massacre.
His 15-year-old brother was killed and his parents suffered head injuries and severe burns. Her six-month-old sister suffered a serious eye injury and corneal laceration.
Her aunt, Hayat al-Ghussein, 48, sat next to her.
“I was planning to go see my sister, Ghazal’s mother, in their makeshift tent near the market,” she began. “I was just at the market to buy a few things on the way when shelling and gunfire erupted from all directions. I ran… (there were) screams everywhere, I saw children, women, a lot of injured people. I ran screaming, barely understanding what was happening.
According to Hayat, the bombing and shooting targeted the tents of displaced people, including the one where her sister’s family lived.
“People were running out of their tents. I was shocked when I arrived at my sister’s tent, they were all injured and bleeding – my sister, her husband, their children, even their baby was hit in the eye.
Hayat tried to reach them, but the shots were too close and she had to run. When calm finally returned, she returned to the tent as ambulances arrived to take care of the injured and deceased.
“My nephew bled to death; no one could save him,” she sobbed.
“Ghazal cannot move, stand, speak or hear. How does this happen to a young girl? What wrong did she commit?
Due to the large number of wounded, the al-Ghusseins were unable to stay together at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital. Some family members had to be transferred to the European hospital in Khan Younis, which was equally under-equipped and overloaded.
“How can this happen in front of the world? » asked Hayat.