Widow's Account of Displacement and Loss

My name is Hanaa Saqr Mohammad Abu Saif, 36 years old. I am the widow of the martyr Mohammad Mohammad Rajab Abu Saif, who was killed at the age of 36. I am the mother of four orphaned daughters: Faten (13), Razan (12), Layan (8), and Nawal (5).

Before the war, we lived in Khan Younis, in the Hamad City Towers. Today, after losing our home and all sense of stability, we are living in the Egyptian Committee Shelter Center in Al-Zawayda.

Before 7 October 2023, our life was stable and dignified. My husband worked as a taxi driver under a weekly rental system. Despite suffering from a heart condition, he never stopped working to provide for his family. His greatest concern was ensuring a safe and stable life for his daughters.

On the morning of 7 October 2023, my husband was preparing to go to work, and my daughters were getting their school bags ready. Suddenly, we heard unfamiliar sounds. At first, I thought it was thunder, but the sound was much louder and closer.

In early December 2023, the Israeli army ordered residents of Hamad City Towers to evacuate in preparation for bombing the buildings. We fled our apartment in haste and sought shelter at Al-Quds Open University.

The displacement journey was exhausting and humiliating in every sense. My husband had no money for transportation, and we had no choice but to walk and move however we could.

With the arrival of winter, our lives turned into a real nightmare. Heavy rains flooded the area, and water rushed toward us. We slept on rainwater, wrapped in completely soaked blankets.

That day, my husband was extremely exhausted. His face was swollen, his eyes puffy, and he looked at me and said, “Where can we go? I don’t have a tent or a place to stay… I don’t know what will happen.”

On the eighth day of our displacement, from morning until sunset, my husband did not call. I tried repeatedly to reach him, but he did not answer.

When I saw him wrapped in a shroud, bearing clear injuries to his head and body from an Israeli military missile, it was the most horrific moment of my life. I felt my soul leave my body.

My husband’s killing completely transformed our lives. We became engulfed by loneliness and insecurity, deprived of the true support that had protected us. Suddenly, all responsibility fell on my shoulders, especially with m

Source: PCHR · https://pchrgaza.org/two-faces-of-loss-the-killing-of-a-husband-and-father-and-the-suffering-of-forced-displacement-hunger-and-psychological-collapse/