Ahmed Hasan Ahmed ‘Aziz (42), married with 6 children, and resident of Tel al-Za’tar neighborhood in northern Gaza, gave his testimony to PCHR on 05 March 2023. 

On the first floor of a 6-story family building, I live with my wife and 6 children: Alaa’ (15), Salsabeel (10), Joury (7), Jamila (6), Bader (3), and ‘Odai (14). 

On 07 October 2023, my wife was getting the kids ready for school, when suddenly, we heard the sound of rockets fired from everywhere in Gaza, so I decided not to send the kids to school. Since the beginning of the war, I have left my house until on Wednesday, 25 October 2023, when Abu Mahmoud al-Zuhri’s house, which was next to ours, was bombed at 14:30. As a result, my wife (Badrakhan Zakaria ‘Aziz), my mother-in-law (E’timad Diab ‘Aziz), and my nephew (Hasan ‘Abed Rabbu ‘Azizi) were immediately killed. My wife and my mother-in-law remained under the rubble for 2 hours but then pulled out dead by the rescue teams. Meanwhile, my nephew Hasan was found bleeding from his head on the second floor, as the wall collapsed on him and shrapnel penetrated his head. He was still breathing, but after half an hour, he succumbed to his injury in the ambulance.

Also, the rest of my family members were injured: my daughter Bader was injured in her head and stayed in the hospital for 10 days while my daughter Jamila sustained a foot injury.  Also, I was trapped under the rubble, and my brothers and neighbors dug for an hour until finding me unconscious. I was injured in my head and foot and then taken by an ambulance to the Indonesian Hospital.  I had my head and foot stitched, and after 2 days discharged from the hospital. Afterwards, I decided to evacuate with my children to my sister’s house in Jabalia refugee camp, where I stayed for 2 weeks and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) intensified their bombardment, wiping out an entire residential square. We lived the worst days of our life gripped by constant fear and anxiety.

Afterwards, my children and I evacuated to Deir al-Balah through the so-called “safe corridor” in Netzarim. They were terrifying moments when we walked in front of Israeli tanks and soldiers who provoked us all the way and were shouting at us via a loudspeaker “Walk…Stop”. We finally arrived at Kareem al-‘Aklouk School in Deir al-Balah, where my family and I live in a tent suffering from scarcity of water, food and medical treatment as we have not recovered yet from the injuries we sustained in our house in Tel al-Za’tar. After my wife was martyred, I cannot take care of my children alone after I lost my wife as they are in dire need of their mother in such dire circumstances.

All I want now is an end to the war, bombardment, destruction and the constant fear my children and I live. I want a shelter for my children to live a decent life after our house was completely destroyed.