Suha Nasser, 27, a physiotherapist from Jabalia, was sheltering at home with her husband, baby and 31 relatives when their street was bombed.
What was your life like before 7 October?
I met Mohammed at university in 2018 and was immediately attracted to his self-confidence. On top of that, he was kind, loving, supportive and always joking around. We got married in 2019 and I couldn't have been happier, but what followed was our long struggle to start a family.
We travelled to Egypt in May 2022 for a holiday, but found that the cost of fertility treatment in Cairo was much lower. Two weeks after the embryo transfer we had to make the journey back across the border to Gaza, which took two full days, across often dangerous checkpoints. I was exhausted and feared for my unborn child. In April 2023, Ahmed arrived after four years of longing.
A month later, I returned to my job as a physiotherapist at al-Rantisi hospital. I tried to coordinate between being a new mother and work; my husband took care of Ahmed during my shifts and stayed up with him to let me sleep.
What happened when the war started?
I was immediately afraid for the safety of my family. This was compounded by the stress of being a new mother trying to shield my son from the impact of the bombings and the upheaval in our home, which was filled with noise and anxiety. Within four days of the war starting, our home had become a refuge for more than 60 people, mostly relatives of my husband. Some were displaced due to the Israeli army's threat to their neighbourhoods and some due to shelling.
Ahmed had trouble sleeping. Calming and reassuring him was a challenge made more difficult by the [lack of food and nutrition] needed for breastfeeding.
What happened next?
Denne historien er fra August 02, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra August 02, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.
