In Gaza on April 3rd, the soul and body were both torn apart by bomb blasts. This was no movie scene. While much of the world was still wrapped in the festive spirit of Eid, Gaza once again transformed into a city of death. Countless innocent women and children lost their lives. As always, the world’s leading human rights organizations remained silent.
Among the rubble, 40-year-old Gaza resident Himam Al-Rifi slowly pulled out tiny pieces of newborn baby clothing. But there was no one left to wear them. On that same day, April 3rd, Himam’s pregnant sister, her husband, and their mother were all killed in an Israeli airstrike. The only thing left behind were the clothes meant for a child who would never see the world.
Speaking to Reuters, Himam said:
“My sister got married just a month before the war began. She was in her ninth month of pregnancy. She was so happy to welcome her first child. But now she’s gone. Her husband is gone. The baby inside her is gone. She had prepared all these clothes with love. She was excited, waiting.”
With a voice heavy with despair, Himam explained that his sister had carefully chosen those clothes for her unborn child. But now, only the clothes remain. Until recently, he had been taking refuge in a tent inside Dar Al-Arqam School. But now, everything is gone. With six children of his own, he now faces an uncertain future.
“We had been living at this school. Here is where I lost my mother, my sister, and her unborn baby. The bodies we pulled from the rubble were all innocent civilians. They had no weapons, no illegal items—nothing.”
While the Israeli military claimed the school was a secret base and command center for Palestinian fighters, most of the bodies recovered from the site were women and children. Himam now asks the world:
What crime had his sister or her unborn child committed?
“Why did my sister, her husband, and their baby all have to die? What was their fault? What did that unborn baby do to deserve this? That child never even had the chance to see the light of the world. Still, I believe they are now at peace with God.”
According to the United Nations and other human rights groups, at least 1,309 civilians have been killed in Gaza in just the last two weeks. An additional 280,000 people have been newly displaced.
In the face of such devastation, the question remains: When will this massacre end?