Hardly a day passes from the last days of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip without the girl Farah Islem 11 asking her mother a set of questions: when will Eid come? When will we go out on Eid trips? These innocent questions are a natural part of those ideas and dreams that have been stirring the minds of the children of the Gaza Strip as they eagerly await the end of the month of Ramadan to celebrate Eid and wear their new clothes.
However Israeli warplanes have transformed these dreams into nightmares for children who are no longer waiting for Eid as much as they are waiting for the end of the heinous aggression that targeted them without mercy.
The Israeli warplanes killed 66 children out of about 250 martyrs in one of the most heinous massacres committed by Israel. Children women and innocent people in the Gaza Strip were killed while about 2000 others suffered various wounds most of them children and women.
Bombing without warning
As the sun rose during the last days of the Israeli aggression on the Strip Israeli warplanes targeted with at least one missile the house of the Islem family in the Sabra neighborhood in central Gaza City without prior warning as happened with dozens of families that were wiped out in Gaza.
The missile nearly inflicted a massacre against seven children and their mother who had just slept after being awake all night due to the incessant raids. The rest of the family more than thirty members reside in the other floors.
The bombing that targeted the Islem’s house hit an apartment consisting of two rooms inhabited by Hazem Islem his wife and seven children. The missile turned the apartment into a pile of rubble which caused severe damage to the five-story building other than the damage caused to the neighboring houses.
Islem Farah’s father told the PIC that shrapnel of the Israeli bombing hit four of his children: Amira 14 Shahd 13 and Baha 8 whose wounds were described as moderate and minor while Farah 11 was severely injured in her head and foot. Farah’s injuries were severe and almost reached the level of amputation of her foot due to the great lacerations that afflicted her.
Shocking Reception
Islem 39 works as a security officer at Shifa Central Hospital in Gaza City and he was notified that several injuries had arrived from the Sabra neighborhood. He went to the reception as usual and he never expected that those casualties would be his children in the ambulance as he had left them at night in the arms of their mother and grandmother before leaving for work.
“I was shocked when I saw my offspring injured especially since they are children” says Islem. “Are these (children) the targets of Israel? Bombing innocent sleeping children? They (children) had no dreams except celebrating and enjoying Eid.”
Eid clothes
Despite the poor living conditions Islem bought Eid clothes to his children. Farah was the most happy with her new clothes among her sisters because it is her first time to fast the entire month of Ramadan so she was waiting for the reward from her father and mother.
While the children of Islem waited for the end of the aggression to wear the clothes of the Eid this wish was not fulfilled as their injuries forced them to spend their days after the aggression in the hospital to receive the necessary treatment.
Cure trip
Despite the difficult condition of the children as most of the shrapnel of the Israeli bombardment wounded the upper parts of their bodies the condition of the child Farah was the most difficult. The injury in her head was severe but it was not as much as the shrapnel that hit her right foot below the knee and caused a very large laceration that almost caused an amputation.
With the little girl still dreaming of going out to the Eid trip with her father mother and sisters she hoped to leave the hospital as soon as possible. Nevertheless her health condition was not stable so the Eid trip was transformed into a journey of treatment that may last a long time.
The health situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely difficult due to the scarcity of the necessary medical potentials. Hence the doctors have requested the transfer of Farah to another country in order to complete her treatment without having to amputate her foot.
The King of Jordan Abdullah II instructed the Royal Medical Services to evacuate the child Farah from the Gaza Strip and treat her in the hospitals of the Royal Medical Services in Amman after her family appealed to the monarch on social media.
According to the Jordanian channel Ruya Farah will be transferred from the Gaza Strip to Al-Hussein Medical City for treatment at the King’s expense.
For his part Islem thanked the Jordanian monarch for the speedy response to the appeal to treat his child expressing his hope that she would be transported quickly to Jordan for treatment to avoid any possible health complications.
