KNOW THEIR NAMES
Ahmed was the one who cheered everyone up, who made a joke to defuse a tense situation. The Israeli bombardment of Gaza won. No one can believe he’s gone.
Gaza City – Ahmed always called to check on his friends and family, his cousin said wistfully.
His dream was to set up a dental care program for the elderly, Jihan Sabakhi wrote on Facebook about his cousin.
“All those wishes vanished in the blink of an eye…leaving hearts to bleed from his loss.”
Israel, Jihan wrote, “destroyed the dreams of a young man who just wanted a future for himself in Gaza.”
The last thing Ahmed’s family heard him say was the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith that a dying man recites, as he groaned in pain under a wall that had collapsed on him.
When Israeli missiles began raining down on the neighborhood where the family lives, he was sleeping upstairs, having spent the evening laughing and joking with his parents and little sister Judy.
“The night he was killed, we were sitting together, talking, joking and eating watermelon seeds. He was playing with his little sister Judy’s hair,” his mother said, recounting that although Ahmed was joking and being cheerful as usual, there was a sense of ominousness even in his jokes.
“He said, ‘Give me some seeds before I’m martyred, quickly!’ », she choked with emotion. “It was like he was saying goodbye to us.”
When the bombing caused Ahmed’s bedroom wall to collapse, his family was desperate and trying to climb the stairs to see if he was still alive. Eventually, they managed to crawl to the upper level through a window, but it was too late.
Ahmed died that night, October 10. He was only 24 years old.
The aspiring dentist had just graduated from dental school and was known for begging his friends to let him fix their teeth for free — because he needed that practice.
Just one cleaning, he cajoled the resistance fighters, promising them they would have movie star teeth once he was done.
“With Ahmad, we would sit and dream, talk about his ideas for the future – it was always about building a project, a dream, a successful future,” said his close friend and cousin, Ahmed al-Sabakhi.
“He didn’t like to see me sad, he always tried to make me laugh. He was a bit like that with everyone, truly one of the kindest hearts in the family.
During the fourth night of Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza, Ahmed was becoming a little pessimistic, a major change from the cheerful, loving son, brother and friend everyone around him was accustomed to.
His mother still mourns his loss and remembers how he seemed to know he was going to die under the constant bombing.
She is not alone, there is still disbelief when talking to people who knew Ahmed; no one can believe that he is no longer.