‘Adnan al-Qassas
31 December 2024
A 36-year-old from Bani Suheila east of Khan Yunis, whose newborn baby froze to death in the displaced family’s tent on 20 Dec. 2024
My wife, Rana Amin al-Qassas, 32, and I had five children: Yihya, 9, Muhammad, 8, Sufian, 5, Amin, 2.5, and ‘Aishah, 23 days old. Until the war, we lived in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Yunis. Now we’re displaced on the beach in al-Mawasi, which is in the Khan Yunis area, and are living in a tent made of cloth and plastic sheets.
Last year, during the Israeli invasion east of Khan Yunis, the army shelled my house and my brother’s house and they burned down. The whole area was surrounded by a fire ring of shelling, and a tank came right up to my front door. We somehow managed to get out and walked to the town of Rafah. We stayed there for five months, in very rough conditions. In March, while we were there, we found out that Rana was one month pregnant. She got prenatal care at the hospital there, and the fetus was doing well.
Then, Rafah was bombed and we moved to al-Mawasi in the Khan Yunis area, west of the al-Qararah area, but after a while, the army went there too. Our tent was destroyed and we had to leave again.
We moved further west, still in al-Mawasi in the Khan Yunis area, but this time on the beach. The conditions here are especially hard. All the relocations and upheavals were very difficult and painful. Every time, we lost more of what little we had, and we're left with almost nothing. We don’t have a normal tent or basic household items.
On 28 November 2023, Rana gave birth to ‘Aishah at the British Hospital in the al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis. wWe were both so happy, because she arrived after four boys. ‘Aishah was checked at birth and got the required vaccinations.
It was ‘Aishah’s fate to be born in winter, to life in a tent made of cloth and a bit of plastic sheeting. It’s very cold in the tent, and we don’t have enough warm clothes or blankets. I tried to get tarps from aid organizations, but couldn’t. In the last place we stayed, we had a tent made of tarps, but it was burned down by a bombing nearby. Now we don’t have the money for a new tent or other things. Everything is very expensive, and we’re really struggling financially. I can’t buy a tent of that quality now. The tent I have now is made of cloth, some coverings and a bit of plastic sheeting. In the camp we’re in now, there are about 50 families and the conditions are rough. There are no aid agencies here.
On Friday, 20 December 2024, it was very rainy and cold, with strong winds. During the night, the tent got flooded. Rana and I kept the children close to us. I stayed up until 4:00 A.M. to make sure the tent wouldn’t sink into the water, and then I went to sleep. Just before I dozed off, Rana nursed ‘Aishah and checked to see she was okay. The baby slept with us.
We woke up at 6:00 A.M. I picked ‘Aishah up and she was like a block of ice, cold and stiff and blue, and her eyes were open. I held her in utter shock. She wasn’t breathing. I ran with her to the Red Crescent first aid center, 500 meters away. They tried to resuscitate her, but they couldn’t, so they took us both in an ambulance to Naser hospital in Khan Yunis, where they tried to revive her again, but couldn’t. They said her heart and circulatory system were hurt by the cold. ‘Aishah was buried immediately.
Rana and I are crushed. The death of ‘Aishah, our only girl out of five children, hit us like a bolt of lightning. Rana’s heart is broken. She hasn’t recovered and now has high blood pressure. She dreamed of having a girl for so long. I try to comfort her, but I can’t. UNRWA got her mental health support, but she can’t stop crying.
I fear for the lives of our remaining children in this tent, which gives us no protection. We survive thanks to food aid, and we only eat canned food and lentils. It’s not enough, and I’m afraid of losing another child to cold and hunger. Yesterday it poured again, and our tent sank. I feel helpless. I’ve lost my baby, and I don’t want to lose another child. My heart is already broken over ‘Aishah, but that’s a decree of heaven.
* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 31 December 2024