Behind the tens of thousands of Gaza orphans are countless "disappeared families"
2024-08-20
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On June 16, a child stood in a cemetery in Deir al-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip. Image source: Visual China
China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter Wang Zi
The health department of the Gaza Strip issued a statement on August 18, saying that since the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Israeli army's military operations in the Gaza Strip have resulted in the deaths of 40,099 Palestinians and the injuries of 92,609 people. The Palestinian News Network said that most of the victims were women and children.
In the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, 3-month-old Reem Abu Haya was the only survivor of an airstrike on August 12. People tried to feed her with formula, but she refused because she was used to breast milk.
According to the United Nations, as of February, there were about 17,000 unaccompanied children in the Gaza Strip, and the number is still increasing. Tanya Haji-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor and member of Doctors Without Borders, told CNN that doctors working in the Gaza Strip have coined a new term "WCNSF", which means "wounded children without families."
Behind the tens of thousands of Gaza orphans are countless “disappeared families”.
The Associated Press found that in the first two months of this round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more than 60 Palestinian families lost at least 25 family members in attacks; at least 15 of them lost more than 50 family members. As the conflict continues, most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced. Communication between regions has been cut off and families have been torn apart, making it increasingly difficult to record relevant information. Some families no longer update the casualties of their members because most of them have been buried in mass graves, hospital vacant lots and ruins.
Rami Abdou, president of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, said that in March, dozens of its researchers in Gaza stopped recording the deaths of local family members because the pace of recording was "difficult to keep up with the number of deaths."
"Israel is wiping out the entire Palestinian family." The Associated Press said that the disappearance of the extended family is tearing apart Palestinian society, history and future, which is more destructive than physical damage and large-scale displacement.
In Gaza, a large family usually builds multiple three-story or multi-story buildings. It is common for generations to live together in the same compound. The large family forms an economic unit, and the relatives are closely connected. They will jointly repay debts, raise children, and fund schools. Many large families name a neighborhood or even an entire community after their surnames. Elena Feldman, a professor of anthropology at George Washington University in the United States who studies the history of Gaza, said that when local managers in Gaza lack influence, they usually ask large families to intervene to help maintain social order.
In times of crisis, extended family members often leave their homes together and struggle to survive together. This is why in the Gaza Strip, after an attack, it is common to see dozens or even hundreds of victims from the same family.
For locals, the disappearance of an extended family is like the wiping out of a village, causing not only great emotional harm but also affecting the social structure.
Omar Shaaban, an independent researcher and economist in Gaza, has lost many relatives in this round of conflict. He told the Associated Press that none of the 400,000 families in Gaza can escape the pain of losing a loved one. "Everyone is a target. Families from all walks of life, the poor, farmers, businessmen... There are no exceptions. It is clear that this is an attack on the social structure."
The Salim family used to be a big family. In this round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this big family lost most of its members. In December 2023, 173 members of the Salim family died in an Israeli airstrike. By this spring, the death toll in the family had risen to 270.
"All my uncles are gone, along with their wives, children and grandchildren," Yusuf Salim told the Associated Press, as he spent months compiling important information about his relatives into a spreadsheet in the hope of preserving "the last remaining link" to a family network he once thought would last for generations.
Yusuf lives in Istanbul, Turkey. He keeps his relatives in Gaza updated and helps them find shelter and food.
The family's journey to asylum has also had its share of heartwarming moments. After one of the family relocations, Yusuf's uncle Munir took a photo of relatives playing cards together, a tradition in Salim's family.
Soon after, the house where Salim's family lived collapsed during an airstrike, and it took days to dig out the bodies of Munir and other relatives.
By June, Yusuf had difficulty counting the number of family members who had died, and a relative who had helped him sort out the information was seriously injured in the attack. Yusuf felt desperate at the thought that his family's story would not be continued.
"When one person in the family dies, it causes grief to the rest of the family for the rest of their lives," Yusuf told the Associated Press in a trembling voice. "How can we stay sane after all this?"
There are only a few survivors in Salim's family left. Youssef calls his mother in Gaza every day to check if she is still alive.
Source: China Youth Daily Client
