Radiologist's Account of Son's Death and Detention

I am married to Ms. Rawan Hassan Salha (36 years old). We have three children: Jouri (13 years old), Hamid (14 years old), and Yousef (7 years old). We reside in Al-Amal neighbourhood in Khan Younis. I have worked as a radiology and medical imaging specialist at the Ministry of Health since 2007.

I lived with my family in our apartment located on the third floor of our extended family home in Al-Amal neighbourhood, Khan Younis. We had been leading a stable life, marked by a sense of safety, reassurance, and family stability.

On the morning of 7 October 2023, I was at home while my wife had finished preparing our children for school and they had already left. However, upon hearing the loud explosions that occurred that morning, my wife immediately went to the school and brought the children back home.

Approximately two hours later, the situation became clearer, as it was revealed that rockets had been launched toward the occupied territories and that the border fence had been breached. As events escalated and the Israeli army began carrying out intense airstrikes and bombardments targeting various areas of Khan Younis, a state of emergency was declared at Nasser Medical Complex. Accordingly, I was assigned to full duty under the emergency schedule, working 24-hour shifts for three days each week. I immediately complied with the decision.

From the very first moments, I noticed that the Israeli response was extremely violent, as the nature of the injuries I dealt with during my work in the radiology and medical imaging department was severe and unusually complex.

I continued to carry out my duties normally and in full accordance with the assigned schedule until approximately 12:00 noon on Sunday, 15 October 2023. At that time, I was on duty at Nasser Medical Complex when I heard a powerful explosion.

From the hospital courtyard, I observed that an airstrike had targeted the vicinity of my home in the Al-Amal neighbourhood, Khan Younis. I immediately attempted to contact my wife by mobile phone, but the call could not be completed due to the disruption of telecommunications. I then contacted her via WhatsApp; her phone rang twice, and on the second attempt the line connected. However, I could only hear intense screaming and crying, with no clear words.

At that very moment, I heard one of the media correspondents inside the hospital report that the strike had targeted the home of the Abu Mousa family in Al-Amal neighbourhood, which plunged me into a state of extreme fear and panic.

As ambulances began arriving at the hospital, I rushed to the reception and emergency department. There, I heard the voices of my wife and my two children, Hamid and Jouri. Thank God, they were alive and had sustained moderate injuries. I tried to calm them, but I noticed that my son Yousef was not with them.

I began searching for him inside the department, then in the intensive care unit, and afterward went to the radiology and medical imaging department, hoping to find him there, but to no avail. I returned to the reception area, where my wife was describing Yousef’s features to the doctors, repeatedly saying: “My son is 7 years old, fair-skinned and handsome, with curly hair.”

At that moment, I stopped one of the journalists who were documenting the arrival of the wounded and asked to see the photos he had taken. While reviewing the images, I recognised my son Yousef in one of them, even though his face was covered. One of the people present then informed me that the child shown in the photo had been transferred to the morgue. I could not comprehend what I was told at that moment and rushed to the morgue, where the greatest shock awaited me: I identified my son Yousef there.

Despite my pain and the devastating shock of loss, I tried to remain composed and to lessen the impact of the tragedy on my wife and children. Inside, however, I felt an intense grip around my heart and profound sorrow, especially as Yousef was a remarkable child—intelligent, cheerful, and full of life—whom I loved no differently from my other children.

In the same attack, my brother’s wife, Hiba Al-Madhoun (38 years old), and her sons, Hamid Jasser Hamid Abu Mousa (21 years old) and Abdulrahman Jasser Hamid Abu Mousa (8 years old), were killed. Six other family members were moderately injured as a result of the warplanes targeting the third and fourth floors of the house. The bombardment also resulted in the killing of one of my relatives, Hani Fathi Amer Abu Mousa (44 years old), who was struck by flying debris while standing in the street opposite the targeted home. All those killed were buried in Abu Mousa cemetery, located near the Austrian Towers area in Khan Younis.

Despite this painful incident, which tore a part of my heart and soul away, I continued working at the medical complex until the Israeli army invaded the city of Khan Younis on 1 December 2023, followed by the arrival of its forces and the imposition of a complete siege on the complex on 22 January 2024, at which time my family was sheltering with me inside the hospital.

At approximately 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, 15 February 2024, after the Israeli army issued instructions to the administration of the medical complex—represented by its director, Atef Al-Hout—ordering the evacuation of all displaced persons and patient companions, while allowing only non-ambulatory patients and medical staff to remain, he was informed of a specific route that must be followed.

The designated route was to begin at the hospital gate, pass by the Jasser building, continue toward Al-Qal‘a in the city centre, and then proceed southward until reaching the road leading to the city of Rafah. As a result, I was forced to leave the complex along with my wife and children, together with hundreds of civilians. We proceeded on foot toward the north-eastern gate of the complex overlooking Al-Bahr Street.

As soon as we exited, I noticed a heavy presence of Israeli military vehicles, a large deployment of occupation soldiers on the ground, and snipers positioned on the rooftops of high buildings surrounding the complex. Upon reaching the gate of the sports club located immediately east of the medical complex, all civilians were stopped.

The occupation forces instructed that every five people advance toward a camera that had been set up in front of one of the shops beneath the stadium stands overlooking the main street. My identity card and my mobile phone, a POCO F3, were confiscated. I, along with two other individuals, was then ordered to enter the club.

As soon as we entered, we were subjected to an initial interrogation about our personal details and the nature of our work. This was followed by a violent assault, during which occupation soldiers severely beat us with batons, accompanied by insults and degrading, obscene slurs that violated human dignity.

After that, I was ordered to completely remove my clothes. I had a sum of 600 shekels in my clothing, which I have not recovered since. I was subjected to a humiliating body search, during which I felt that one of the soldiers deliberately touched sensitive areas of my body with the clear intent of humiliation. I was then forced to wear only boxer shorts and a white overall. My hands were bound behind my back with plastic ties, and my eyes were fully blindfolded.

I was held inside one of the rooms beneath the stadium stands for approximately 15 hours. The forces then brought a military truck, into which we were loaded in a degrading and humiliating manner, and driven to an unknown location.

During the journey, the driver deliberately inflicted as much physical harm as possible, intentionally taking rough roads, driving at excessive speed, and repeatedly stopping abruptly. This caused me severe and sharp pain in my feet.

Upon arrival at that location, I was immediately taken into an interrogation room, where the blindfold was removed. The room contained a desk and an interrogator wearing a military uniform. The interrogation began immediately and focused on the nature of my work, the individuals I had encountered inside the hospital during my shifts, and my whereabouts on 7 October.

During the interrogation, I was accused of working with Hamas—accusations that I categorically denied. Each time I denied these allegations, I was beaten. The interrogation lasted for approximately one hour, after which my eyes were blindfolded again and I was taken to an open area where a number of detainees were being held.

I was forced to sit on a rough, abrasive surface, which was extremely painful. I suffered from intense cold amid extremely harsh weather conditions, as heavy rain was falling, causing me to shiver violently due to the low temperature. In response, one of the soldiers placed a wet blanket over my body, which only worsened my suffering rather than alleviating it. We remained detained at that location until the early morning hours.

A military truck then arrived, and the soldiers carried me and violently threw me inside. I was forced to lie on my back while my hands were bound behind me—an extremely harsh and painful position that caused me severe physical suffering.

After travelling some distance, we arrived at another site where buses were waiting. We were taken down from the truck and forced onto the buses, after which we were transported to an unknown location. Throughout all stages of the transfer, and every time the means of transport was changed, all detainees were subjected to severe beatings carried out in a brutal manner, accompanied by continuous verbal abuse and insults.

Upon arrival at that location, we were unloaded, and the soldiers released muzzled dogs toward us. The dogs attacked us, striking us with their leashes in a highly professional and extremely painful manner. This assault lasted for several minutes, while the soldiers laughed and mocked us.

After that, the plastic restraints were removed and the blindfold was lifted, revealing a large number of heavily armed soldiers holding batons in their hands. They began shouting at us, ordering us to remove our clothes quickly. I was then given clothing consisting of grey pyjamas and an undergarment (boxer shorts). Later, my hands were shackled with metal cuffs, my eyes were blindfolded again, and I was seated to await a medical examination.

After approximately half an hour, I was taken to a doctor who asked whether I suffered from any chronic illnesses or took any medication. I answered in the negative, after which I was assigned a prisoner number: 017473. I was then transferred to one of the sections while my hands were cuffed in front with metal restraints and my eyes blindfolded. I later learned from other detainees that I was being held in Section “A” of Sde Teiman detention facility, where I remained in this condition for three consecutive days. Due to my good command of the Hebrew language, I was later assigned the role of a shawish within the section. One of the main privileges associated with this role was the removal of the metal cuffs and the blindfold, in exchange for assisting priso

Source: PCHR — https://pchrgaza.org/a-journey-of-pain-from-the-martyrdom-of-my-son-to-torture-and-the-loss-of-my-mother-and-sister/