Once upon a Valentine in Gaza: Love in the time of genocide

This post was originally intended for Valentine’s Day, as a reminder to a world celebrating love that love also exists in Gaza. 

The idea began as a plan to share a glimpse of Gaza before the war, during Valentine’s Day, when gift shops celebrate the occasion despite the city’s conservative nature and the presence of “Khamas”.

The "Love" heart cushion survives after all in a destroyed house in Gaza
by Duaa Tuaima 

I then decided to share the pleas of those lovers who lost their significant others in the war.

Last week, photos and videos have emerged of a young couple who married while living in a displacement, offering a glimmer of hope and changing the course of this post yet again.

Palestinian newlywed Shaima Qazeet and Mahmoud Akhiziq
inside a Deir Al-Balah displacement camp by photographer Majdi Fathi 

Their names are Mahmoud and Shaima.They were engaged and had already conducted a marriage contract ceremony before October.

Watch : Egypt speaks about the 75 years of collective punishment and forced displacement of Palestinians in front of the ICJ on Israeli violations in Palestine

Watch the official advisory opinion of Egypt at the International Court of Justice “ICJ” on Israeli violations in Palestine on Wednesday at the Hague

Egypt’s statement in the hearing is read by Dr Jasmine Moussa, the legal advisor in the office of Egypt’s Foreign Minister.

Along with the oral argument, Egypt submitted two written memoranda to the court concerning Israel's violations since 1967.

After 12 Days of Unanswered Pleas, Hind and Her Rescuers Found Dead and Decayed: This is not a Netflix horror thriller; this is the reality in Gaza "Updated"

For nearly 12 agonizing days, many Palestinians, as well as Arabs, have been haunted by a single question: Where is little Hind Ragab? 

Tragically, the answer has surfaced in the most harrowing of ways. Left to perish alongside members of her family, despite her desperate pleas for help, Hind's final moments were marred by fear and abandonment.

Injured and terrified of the encroaching darkness, she cried out for adults to rescue her from the looming threat of Israeli tanks. However, her calls for aid went unanswered, sealing her fate.

 Even the valiant efforts of paramedic rescuers, who tirelessly sought permission from the Israeli Army to evacuate her to safety, ended in tragedy as they too became victims of the Israeli army’s brutality. 

Hind Ragab, a 6-year-old from Gaza, unwittingly became a symbol of yet another appalling war crime perpetrated by the Israeli army, her final hours a grim testament to the atrocities endured by innocent civilians during a complete world silence.

Her mother let her go with her uncle’s family to seek supposed safety after the Israeli army issued a warning on Monday that it would target West Gaza and that Palestinian residents should head to Deir El-Balah.

But there was no safety on their way.

Hind went with her 44-year-old uncle, Bashar Hamada, and his 43-year-old wife, Anam, along with her four cousins, including 15-year-old Layan, 13-year-old Sana, 12-year-old Mohamed, and 4-year-old Sarah.

They were driving a black Kia Picanto, and imagining all those people in this small car made me feel more stressed.

While they were allegedly heading for safety, the Israeli army’s tank opened fire.

Only Layan and Hind survived but were injured.

To get help, bleeding Layan called her uncle Mohamed Salem Hamada, who lives in Germany’s Frankfurt.

From Germany, her uncle Mohamed called the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in the West to start a saga that would suit a Netflix horror thriller, but unfortunately, it is not fiction. It is real life in Gaza.

Investigate 7 October independently for the sake of the victims on both sides: Not only Zaka’s greed, but also the Israeli government supported lies for sake of genocide in Gaza

On January 31st, Haaretz, an Israeli publication, released an investigative report uncovering how a local ultra-Orthodox Jewish volunteer group exploited the tragedy of the October 7th attack for financial gain.

This group, which led the efforts to collect the bodies of the Israelis killed in the attack, propagated false and horrifying narratives about the events of that day. These fabrications have been used to justify one of the most egregious genocides of the 21st century thus far.

Despite the credibility of Haaretz's findings, which have not been refuted but rather corroborated by other Israeli media outlets, no mainstream Western media organization has deemed it newsworthy to share this information.

The organization in question is Zaka, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish non-governmental organization entrusted with handling unnatural deaths in Israel. Its primary function is to collect bodies, body parts, and blood and ensure their burial according to Jewish religious law.

Following the October 7th attack, Zaka was involved in a poorly executed operation to gather the victims' remains, according to reports from the renowned Israeli leftist newspaper. However, this is merely the surface of the issue.

Yossi Landau

According to Haaretz, Zaka and its head of operations in South Israel, Yossi Landeau as well as Israeli army officials spread unsubstantiated claims of atrocities committed against Israeli citizens, particularly children and the elderly. 

These claims were presented during tours of the affected settlements and reported by foreign media without verification. All those claims were made to gain donations worldwide according to the investigation.

Gaza War: After the Hague, what really happened to Al Nasr Hospital's babies ? Or how a series of war crimes ended up in a tragedy "Graphic"

"Do you want to witness a war crime?" asked a Palestinian man to the young aspiring TV journalist seeking a story with a different humane angle in Northern Gaza during a brief truce in late November between the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas.

"Go to Al-Nasr hospital," the man, walking with his wife, directed Mohammed Baalousha on that morning in late November.

On the morning of November 27, Baalousha who was employed by a newly launched Dubai-based TV channel ventured into the streets of North Gaza. The objective of this daring endeavour was to document the lifeless bodies of Palestinian civilians left in the streets during the truce.

These individuals had been killed by the Israeli army and their remains were left in the open, serving as further evidence of war crimes.

However, nothing could have prepared Baalousha for the sights he was about to witness and capture on his iPhone within the confines of the deserted children’s hospital.

What he filmed on that morning would be among the main examples South Africa would use in its lawsuit in front of the International Justice Court against Israel demanding a cease of military operations in Gaza immediately. "FYI, I started working on this post before the hearings"

Once upon a time, two children's hospitals became one

Situated approximately six kilometres south of the Israeli border in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood, El-Nasr Hospital was established in 1961 and transitioned into a children's hospital in 1973.

Al-Nasr Hospital of Gaza in the year 1978 during the Israeli occupation 
"Ahmed Saad Sharab Archives" 

In 2019, it became part of the Al-Nasr Medical Complex, including an eye hospital and psychiatric hospital, sharing a block with Al-Rantisi Children's Cancer Hospital. 

Zoom in to see the map showing the three hospitals in Gaza
that formed a complete medical complex 

The eye hospital, psychiatric hospital and Al-Rantisi Children's Cancer Hospital were considered the first of their kind in Gaza.