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Sha'aban al-Dalou, pictured here in a selfie with his family, tragically lost his life in the al-Aqsa compound fire. |
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of death and injury
There is no conscience. There is no humanity. Only leaders who watch and fail to act.
This is what Ahmed al-Dalou believes, as the haunting images of his family burning replay in his mind. His world, he says, was destroyed in the inferno at the al-Aqsa compound, where his wife and sons perished in the early hours of Monday, October 14.
Before him lies a shroud, wrapping the body of Abdulrahman, his 12-year-old son. Abdulrahman clung to life for four days after the fire. During a hospital visit, he reassured his father, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m OK, Dad… I’m fine. Don’t be afraid.”
Ahmed, his voice breaking between words and sobs, recalls the unbearable moment when he tried to rescue his youngest child: “Three times I tried to pull him out of the fire, but his body kept falling back into it.”
Sha'aban, his 19-year-old son, and Alaa, his wife, aged 37, both perished that same night. Sha'aban's suffering became a symbol of Gaza’s ongoing tragedy, as footage of him burning in agony within the family’s tent spread across social media, amplifying the devastation.
Ahmed bears the scars—burns covering his face and hands. His voice trembles with grief. Speaking of the pilot who launched the missile and the leaders who ordered the strike, he laments, “They broke my heart, and they broke my spirit… I wish the fire had burned me.”
The strike occurred at approximately 01:15 local time last Monday (23:15 BST Sunday). The Israeli military stated that their target was a Hamas "command and control" center located within the al-Aqsa hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
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