A name behind the number
Gaza Mother's Account of Displacement and Loss
I did not say goodbye to her; I did not touch her one last time.
My name is Jamila Khaled Mohammed Al-Marishi, 30 years old, married. I lived in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip before harsh circumstances forced us to flee to Al-Zawaida, where I currently reside in Al-Ata’a and Al-Mahabba Camp.
On the night of 21 November 2023, I lived through one of the most difficult moments of my life. Shells were falling without pause: artillery fire, smoke bombs, successive explosions, and missiles from Israeli warplanes.
Within seconds, an Israeli tank fired a shell directly at the classroom we were sheltering in, followed by a second shell. Screams erupted, smoke spread, and a suffocating smell filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
The blast pressure violently forced Tulin out of my arms, and to this day I do not know how she suddenly disappeared from my arms. I began pushing debris off my children, screaming, “Ali! Omar!”
To this day, I have not seen my daughter Tulin, may God have mercy on her. I did not say goodbye to her; I did not touch her one last time. Whenever I think of her, my heart trembles at the thought that she may have melted beneath the fire and rubble.
The next morning, as we were leaving Hamad School, the Israeli army fired a shell directly at us. We survived by a miracle. Seconds later, a second shell struck a car loaded with civilians and their belongings. The car exploded completely, killing everyone inside instantly.
Source: PCHR · https://pchrgaza.org/i-survived-death-but-not-loss-testimony-of-a-mother-from-gaza-who-lost-her-daughter-beneath-the-rubble/
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