Israel unleashed its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza and a siege last October after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 as hostages, according to Israeli estimates.
Since then, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed almost 42,000 people, the majority women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A further 10,000 are thought to be under the rubble and an unknown number have been taken into Israeli detention. Swathes of Gaza have been razed to the ground.
The Independent spoke to those inside Gaza about what they have been through over the past year.
‘I lost 11 people from my family’
Ziad Abdul-Dayem, 55, is a paramedic and ambulance driver. In November he spent 12 hours dig ng through rubble, trying to rescue nearly a dozen members of his family killed in an Israeli airstrike. He risks his life working day and night to pull survivors from collapsed buildings.
Just a few minutes after Ziad, an ambulance driver, had dropped his son off at the house where they were sheltering, he received an emergency radio call: the area had been bombed.
His son, also a medic, had finished a punishing shift at a hospital in Gaza City, treating the massive influx of wounded from Israel’s offensive. Ziad, whose family had been displaced from northern Gaza, had taken him to get some rest at a flat in Jabalia refugee camp. The extended family was temporarily sheltering there. Since Ziad was the closest ambulance to the bomb site, it was his job to try to rescue survivors.
“The house was bombed along with four others. I was digging for my relatives for 12 hours straight. They were all under the rubble,” he tells The Independent in despair. “I lost 11 people from my family, including my son, my daughter’s husband, and their children. The pain and shock were indescribable.”
This story is from the October 07, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 07, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tuchel left with big calls to make after Carsley refresh
No pressure, Thomas. Lee Carsley hands over to Thomas Tuchel promising to give England’s next manager a comprehensive debrief on the three autumn camps but perhaps also elevating expectations. Not so much with the results – promotion in the Nations League was anticipated for a team ranked fourth in the world and who reached the final of Euro 2024 – as with his assessment of England’s prospects for the time covered by Tuchel’s 18-month deal.
Wiegman calls up uncapped trio for injury-hit Lionesses
England manager Sarina Wiegman is confident Laura Blindkilde-Brown and Ruby Mace can both make the most of their first senior call-ups to an injury-hit squad.
Wales promoted as Cullen double freezes out Iceland
Wales won Nations League promotion as Liam Cullen’s first two international goals helped them to a 4-1 victory over Iceland.
Retail bosses gifted excuse for when things go wrong
It’s not just British farmers who are hacked off by the latest Budget some of the biggest names in retail have now joined forces to send one of those angry, multi-signature letters to the chancellor, scolding her for the imminent tax hikes coming their way.
Jaguar pounces on new logo
Car giant Jaguar has unveiled a new logo and a rebranded range of electric cars alongside marketing slogans such as “delete ordinary,” “live vivid,” and “copy nothing.”
OF UNSOUND MIND
A disquieting mood permeates the BBC's 'The Listeners', the complex story of a teacher whose life unravels after she starts hearing a ceaseless, mysterious hum, writes Nick Hilton
It's grit over gloss in photo show's eye on the Eighties
Protest, poverty and privilege - The 80s: Photographing Britain at Tate Britain offers an exciting, if partial, view of a decade that remains highly polarising, writes Mark Hudson
Publicly-owned rail may not get us back on right track
Nationalisation is often touted as a golden ticket to a better train service. Simon Calder is less optimistic it will work
CAFFEINE FIX
Why does a squirt of syrup in your coffee at Christmas burn such a massive hole in your wallet? Olivia Petter finds out.
Longing and loss: our era of British cinematic elegance
It is four decades since A Room with a View’ made Merchant Ivory a household name. Sarah Sands recalls a world in which her brother Kit and her then husband Julian were central
