'All my dreams have vanished in the war': Gaza families recount loss, injury, and survival after Israeli genocide

Rislan did not speak for months after an Israeli strike targeted his family's tent in Gaza City. The three-year-old was asleep when the explosion ripped through their tent, instantly killing her parents.

Rislan only survived because he was sleeping on the ground, but he was still left with a fractured pelvis, a broken femur, burns to his thigh, and injuries so severe that they required multiple surgeries lasting hours.

"All my dreams have vanished in the war," Marwa Sawaferi, Rislan's aunt, told The New Arab. "We lost everything, our future, our lives.

"Our homes are gone, our siblings are gone, and the people we love are gone."

Marwa lost her sister, her brothers, and several members of her extended family in the strike.

"My brothers were also killed, my sister was killed, her husband was killed," Sawaferi says. "My nephew was killed. He was supposed to get married on Friday, but he was killed the day before."

In November, Rislan, accompanied by Aunt Marwa, were medically evacuated to Jordan along with three other Palestinian families for treatment at Luzmila Hospital in Amman, with support from volunteers from the UK charity SKT Welfare, forcing Marwa to leave her own daughters behind in Gaza City in the care of her sister.

"Rislan was afraid and avoided making any eye contact; he does not really interact with people and only responds a little," a nurse told The New Arab.

"Life taught us not to get attached to anyone because we have to leave them," Sawaferi says. "I entrusted my fate to God and left my daughters in God's care. I am proud of myself that I am here now with Rislan."

She recalls a promise her sister once made her: if a ceasefire was announced, she would bring her a gift. Two weeks later, her sister was killed.

But after the ceasefire, Marwa said she did receive a gift from her sister, Rislan, now under her care, whom she calls her son.

"Maybe the gift was that she was going to give me her son as a present," she said.

'We have lost everything'

Rislan's story mirrors the fate of thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza.

Siblings Nada and Abdul Rahman were the only survivors after an Israeli airstrike flattened the building where they were staying as they visited relatives.

"I lost my wife, my children, my home, and my work, everything I owned was destroyed in Gaza," Mohammed Abu-Hayya, the siblings' father, tells The New Arab.

In total, the family lost 48 relatives, including parents, children, cousins, and grandparents.

Ten-year-old Nada sustained severe injuries to her leg and other sensitive areas. Abdul Rahman was trapped under rubble for nearly six hours, almost losing his leg.

Israeli attacks have injured tens of thousands of children across Gaza, many with life-altering wounds and little access to treatment.

Twelve-year-old Fatin Al-Tayeff lost her eye after shrapnel from an Israeli missile struck her face. Doctors removed the metal fragment, but she will soon need a glass eye.

She was evacuated to Jordan with her father, Khalid, and her aunt, Reema, with assistance from the World Health Organisation. Her mother and four siblings remain in central Gaza.

"No one is willing to leave their country," Khalid tells The New Arab. "We left our hearts in Gaza."

Khalid speaks about his two-year-old daughter, suffering from malnutrition, as Israel continues to impose aid restrictions on the enclave.

"My children in Gaza are not living a proper life," Khalid explains. "They are living with no food, nothing, any necessity of life. We live in a camp, in a tent; our houses are destroyed. No life, no water, no food, no house.

"We have lost everything."

'We love Gaza, and it's our homeland'

The families are currently staying in temporary accommodation in Jordan through SKT Welfare while undergoing medical follow-ups, but all expect to return to Gaza once they are fully recovered.

Leaving and returning to the enclave remains bittersweet; coming back to their war-ravaged homeland is their wish, but conditions in Gaza also make life nearly impossible.

"There is no one who does not long for their homeland," Marwa says. "What I am proud of is that I am from Gaza, that I am Palestinian. But what hurts us deeply is that we have nothing left. I wish things were easier."

Fifteen-year-old Nasim was partially paralysed in his face after shockwaves from Israeli airstrikes. He was evacuated to Jordan with his mother, Horiya, leaving behind her three daughters and another son.

Nasim's mother weeps as she recalls life in Gaza, having to live in makeshift tents as Israel has destroyed their home.

"Life in the tents is extremely difficult. When it rains, children get flooded," Horiya says through tears. "It was the most difficult time I have ever lived through in my life."

"Fear, poverty, hunger, dead life, shelterless tents. I have no money to feed my sick child. Above all, their father has been martyred, and I have to handle all of this alone. We are tired."

The mother recalls her daughter finding her sister lying in water from rainfall, being soaked while sleeping, and fortunately surviving despite going into convulsions.

"The children are exhausted," Horiya explains. "Seeing them standing in the mud or playing in dirty water breaks your heart. They have no freedom, no toys, no proper childhood, they didn't get to experience it, they grew up too fast."

Abu-Hayya, a university lecturer who continued teaching throughout the war, has been offered the chance to complete his PhD in Malaysia. He hopes to take his surviving children and his new wife with him.

"We love Gaza, and it's our homeland," Abu-Hayya says. "With just my son and daughter left with me, I want to try to provide them with a better, safer future."

Nearly all schools in Gaza have been destroyed, halting education for an entire generation.

"It's not that we don't want to return to Gaza," Abu-Hayya asserts. "My priority now is to secure a future for these children because their safety is my responsibility."

'I hope that the world one day will stand with us'

Despite repeated ceasefire announcements, Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued, killing hundreds more Palestinians and leaving families displaced and fearful.

"After what you have watched about what's happening in Gaza, there is nothing to say. Nothing to talk about in Gaza, everything is clear," Marwa says.

"Enough with wars and killing people without any justification," Abu-Hayaa says. "We should live in safety. We truly deserve a better life."

"We hope the next generation will have a better life, for the people of Gaza and all of Palestine."

Khalid, still reeling from his daughter's injury and his family's separation, is less hopeful.

"We have no future," Khalid tells The New Arab. "They don't think about the future or dreams; it's finished because of what we have been through."

"No one is thinking about the future."

When asked whether he wants to send a message to the world, Khalid has nothing else to say, tired of Palestinians' pleas falling on deaf ears.

"We sent many messages, but nobody listens," the father says. "It's in vain, no hope that anyone will hear. I hope that the world one day will stand with us."