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Women and children suffer the most in the wars men start. A heart-wrenching incident in Gaza has once again highlighted this, where a baby boy survived after his mother died in an Israeli air strike.
Ola Al-Kurd, nine months pregnant, eagerly waited for the arrival of her baby, hoping to bring new life to Gaza amidst a war that has claimed the lives of over 39,000 Palestinians and devastated much of the enclave.
“She wanted to hold her child and fill our home with his presence,” Ola’s father Adnan Al-Kurd said. Tragically, Ola never experienced that precious moment. On July 19, an Israeli airstrike hit the family home in Al-Nuseirat, central Gaza, according to her father Adnan Al-Kurd. The explosion threw Ola several floors down, causing her death in the house that sheltered women, children, and the elderly.
Miraculously, her baby and husband survived, with the latter being hospitalized. “It’s a miracle that the fetus stayed alive inside of her when she was martyred (died),” Adnan Al-Kurd remarked, reflecting on a photo of his daughter’s graduation.
The explosion, like countless others, claimed the lives of multiple family members, a daily occurrence in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to a cross-border attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7 last year.
Despite numerous attempts by mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, a ceasefire remains difficult to achieve, making it highly improbable that Israeli airstrikes and shelling will stop in the near future.
Against all odds, surgeons at Al Awda hospital in Nuseirat, where Ola was initially taken after the strike, successfully delivered the newborn, Malek Yassin. The baby was then transferred to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where an aunt gently touched his face as he rested in an incubator.
“Thank God, this baby’s life was saved and he is now alive and well,” news agency Reuters reported doctor Khalil Al-Dakran as saying at the hospital, where many medical facilities have been destroyed during the nine-month war.
Al-Kurd looks at photos of his three late children killed in the Gaza war, noting that baby Yassin shares the same blond hair as his deceased uncle Omar. “I go visit him everyday. He is a part of me,” he said.
Infants who survive the relentless Israeli bombardment find no respite as the conflict continues to wreak havoc in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
“We are in fact facing very great difficulties in the nursery department,” said Al-Dakran, citing a shortage of essential medication and supplies, as well as concerns that the hospital generator could fail at any moment due to fuel scarcity.
Throughout impoverished Gaza, hospitals have been demolished or severely damaged during the war, which erupted when Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli accounts.
Israel countered with an air and ground offensive that has claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Palestinians, as reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and has flattened much of the coastal territory.
“What is the fault of this child to start his life under difficult and very bad circumstances, deprived of the most basic necessities of life?” Dakran questioned.
At least 16,000 children of Gaza have lost their lives in the Israel-Hamas conflict so far.
Ola Al-Kurd, nine months pregnant, eagerly waited for the arrival of her baby, hoping to bring new life to Gaza amidst a war that has claimed the lives of over 39,000 Palestinians and devastated much of the enclave.
“She wanted to hold her child and fill our home with his presence,” Ola’s father Adnan Al-Kurd said. Tragically, Ola never experienced that precious moment. On July 19, an Israeli airstrike hit the family home in Al-Nuseirat, central Gaza, according to her father Adnan Al-Kurd. The explosion threw Ola several floors down, causing her death in the house that sheltered women, children, and the elderly.
Miraculously, her baby and husband survived, with the latter being hospitalized. “It’s a miracle that the fetus stayed alive inside of her when she was martyred (died),” Adnan Al-Kurd remarked, reflecting on a photo of his daughter’s graduation.
The explosion, like countless others, claimed the lives of multiple family members, a daily occurrence in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to a cross-border attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7 last year.
Despite numerous attempts by mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, a ceasefire remains difficult to achieve, making it highly improbable that Israeli airstrikes and shelling will stop in the near future.
Against all odds, surgeons at Al Awda hospital in Nuseirat, where Ola was initially taken after the strike, successfully delivered the newborn, Malek Yassin. The baby was then transferred to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where an aunt gently touched his face as he rested in an incubator.
“Thank God, this baby’s life was saved and he is now alive and well,” news agency Reuters reported doctor Khalil Al-Dakran as saying at the hospital, where many medical facilities have been destroyed during the nine-month war.
Al-Kurd looks at photos of his three late children killed in the Gaza war, noting that baby Yassin shares the same blond hair as his deceased uncle Omar. “I go visit him everyday. He is a part of me,” he said.
Infants who survive the relentless Israeli bombardment find no respite as the conflict continues to wreak havoc in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
“We are in fact facing very great difficulties in the nursery department,” said Al-Dakran, citing a shortage of essential medication and supplies, as well as concerns that the hospital generator could fail at any moment due to fuel scarcity.
Throughout impoverished Gaza, hospitals have been demolished or severely damaged during the war, which erupted when Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli accounts.
Israel countered with an air and ground offensive that has claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Palestinians, as reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and has flattened much of the coastal territory.
“What is the fault of this child to start his life under difficult and very bad circumstances, deprived of the most basic necessities of life?” Dakran questioned.
At least 16,000 children of Gaza have lost their lives in the Israel-Hamas conflict so far.
