Torn to Pieces’: IOF Martyred 710 Infants in Gaza Before 1st Birthday

On September 16, Gaza’s Health Ministry published a 649-page report detailing the personal information of 34,344 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks over the past 11 months. This extensive list is still incomplete, as more than 41,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since October 7, with many not fully identified. Among the identified victims, over 11,300 are children, including 710 who were killed before their first birthday.

Israeli publication +972 Magazine recounted the soul-piercing stories of six infants whose lives were ended by “Israel” before they could even celebrate their first birthday.

‘One of the twins had been torn to pieces’

In August, the world saw images of 33-year-old Muhammad Abu al-Qumsan holding the birth certificates of his newborn twins. After being forcibly displaced from the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City in early October, his family moved to Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah and later were forcibly displaced to an apartment in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Tragically, just four days after their birth, an Israeli artillery shell struck, killing both twins, Asser and Aysal, along with their mother, Jumana.

On August 10, Muhammad and Jumana were filled with joy after she gave birth to twins following a challenging cesarean section at a field hospital in Deir al-Balah. However, their happiness soon turned into profound sorrow and anguish.

“At the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, after being displaced from one area to another in search of a safe place where my wife could comfortably and peacefully complete the remaining months of her pregnancy, I finally decided to stay in an apartment owned by one of my wife’s relatives in Al-Qastal Towers, east of Deir al-Balah, along with her mother and siblings,” Muhammad told +972. “I did not imagine that this apartment would become a target for the occupation’s missiles.”

“After having breakfast with my wife and her mother on the morning of Aug. 13, I went to collect my children’s birth certificates from the Civil Affairs Department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah,” he added.

“Minutes after receiving them, and while I was still at the hospital, I received a phone call from a neighbor informing me that the Israeli military had shelled the apartment where my wife and children were and that everyone inside had been evacuated to the hospital where I was at the time,” he continued.

“At first, I thought they might have only been wounded, but shock overwhelmed me when I found that their bodies had been placed inside the hospital morgue’s refrigerators,” Muhammad heartfully stated.

“One of the twins had been torn to pieces, his features unrecognizable, while the other was soaked in blood, just like their mother. As for their grandmother, the Israeli shell had severed her head. The shock and the horrific scene I witnessed were too much for my mind and heart to bear. I fainted and collapsed to the ground,” he added.

After the twins were born, Jumana posted the news on her Facebook profile, bringing joy to all her acquaintances. A wave of congratulations and happy messages poured in, despite the surrounding tragedies. Just four days later, the same post became a space for condolences, with commenters expressing their shock at her death and offering sympathies for the loss of her and her children.

“Jumana and I were eagerly awaiting our new life, which would be filled with the laughter of our two children, but the Israeli occupation robbed us of that joy,” Muhammad said.

“I only have brief memories and the most beautiful moments of my life with my twins and my wife before they left this world. Aysal and Asser were my first and last joy. What were they guilty of? Why did the Israeli occupation bomb them?” he gushed.

Bombing a pregnant women and killing its infant 

Sabrine al-Rouh al-Sheikh was not yet born when an Israeli airstrike hit Rafah in April, critically injuring her mother and claiming the lives of her father and sister. Her paternal uncle, Rami al-Sheikh, recounted the devastation in the al-Shaboura neighborhood.

“At dawn on April 20, while we were sleeping and without any prior warning, warplanes bombed the house,” Rami recounted. “My brother Shukri was torn to pieces, as was his daughter, Malak.”

Doctors performed an emergency cesarean section on the mother, also named Sabrine, who was seven months pregnant; however, she died 10 minutes later due to injuries to her head, chest, and abdomen. Baby Sabrine was then transferred to the Al-Emirati Hospital in Rafah, where she fought for her life for five days before ultimately succumbing and joining her family.

In addition to the baby’s mother, father, and 3-year-old sister Malak, 16 other members of their extended family were killed in the airstrike.

“Her father was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his baby girl and wanted to name her ‘Rouh’, meaning ‘soul’, but I chose to name her Sabrine Al-Rouh in honor of her mother, while also fulfilling her father’s wish before he was killed,” Rami told +972. “How long will these massacres continue? The world is not paying attention to the genocide being committed against us.”

The pain of loss

In the first week of the Israeli offensive, 26-year-old Mo’emen Abu al-O’uf and his family were frocibly displaced from their home in Gaza City and sought refuge with relatives in Deir al-Balah, reassured by Israeli evacuation notices that areas south of Wadi Gaza were “safe”.

However, on October 14, just a day after their displacement, Israeli warplanes struck the house next door without any warning. Mo’emen and his brother survived the explosion with injuries, but his wife Alaa (22), their seven-month-old daughter Manal, and his mother Manal (53) all lost their lives.

“At first, I thought what had happened to me was just a dream,” he recounted. “I felt an overwhelming sense of loss and sorrow that only someone who has experienced the bitterness of losing their loved ones can understand,” he said.

For the past 11 months since the attack, Mo’emen has been haunted by memories of his family and the profound pain of their loss.

“The happiest days of my life were when I married Alaa on Dec. 12, 2021, and when my daughter Manal was born, but the occupation deprived me of that joy by killing them. They were innocent. Were they fighters? Were they carrying weapons?” he continued.

“Israel killed my dream and prevented me from being a mother”

On March 2, an Israeli airstrike hit the home of 29-year-old Rania Abu Anza in the al-Salam neighborhood, east of Rafah, resulting in the deaths of her baby twins, her husband, and 11 relatives who had sought shelter with them. Rania survived the attack and was rescued from the debris of her collapsed home.

“We were asleep when the house was attacked,” Rania told +972. “Suddenly, I found myself buried in a pile of rubble. I didn’t hear the missile that struck us. I screamed, hoping someone would rescue us, as the rubble covered the bodies of my children and husband. They were all killed.”

Rania shared that it took her and her husband many years to conceive. “We struggled a lot to have children,” she explained.

“I never imagined I would lose my twins and husband,” Rania stressed. “I had eagerly awaited the day I would see them grow up in front of me, but now I am left alone. To this day, I still search through the scattered rubble of the house for memories of my children — their blankets and clothes that I had dreamed of seeing them wear. I still hold on to their clothes, and I still continue to wear my husband’s ring, with whom I shared the most beautiful days of my life. But the occupation killed my dream and prevented me from being a mother.”

“I underwent three artificial insemination procedures; the first two attempts failed, and we succeeded on the third try. I became pregnant with my twins, Naeem and Wissam, and gave birth to them on Oct. 13,” Rania added.