Israel–Hamas war: It took control of Gaza and some of its people were killed in Israeli clashes

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Roba Abu Jibba looked stunned as the doctor informed her: She could not have the operation she so desperately wanted. She nervously squeezed the material of her dress with her hands to stop the tears flowing at one of her scenes.

A 19-year-old Palestinian girl was pinning all her hopes on getting the next simulated sighting of one of the life-changing victims of the Israeli conflict in Gaza. He was brought to Doha for treatment by the Qatar government.

But once again his dreams were shattered.

“I came here, and now they said I won’t be able to get prostheses,” she told CNN, sobbing. “Why am I here? I knew I wouldn’t be able to see with this but it’s good and my eyes will look the same.”

Abu Jibba lost the true sight and shape of his face in early January when an Israeli bomb struck the compound in central Gaza where he and his men had been sheltering for months.

His three brothers and two sisters were killed. Her injured mother and three surviving siblings tried to get backup and left her behind, believing she was dead. She spent more than three days surrounded by the bodies of her siblings before reaching the hospital – only to discover in the market that the wrong doctor was there to treat her as several scientific staff had fled a fight within the section. .

CNN’s week-long investigation into the clashes revealed that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a commercial area housing dozens of civilians without any threat, using heavy ammunition, with consequences. With a 2,000-pound bomb, in line with the gunsmiths.

The Israeli military told CNN that their troops launched “a real attack” when they came under fire from the site. Survivors told CNN in January that the area they were attacked was mistaken for militants, but that they heard “resistance fire” in the area.

Recalling that night, Abu Jibba told CNN that he blamed both Israel and Palestinian terrorists for what happened to his people. He said he believed Hamas or alternative militants fired mortars from a nearby area.

“I blame people…,” she said, paying attention to her words. “And Hamas – and this situation. Because we were living normally in the warehouse for a month… If there were no mortar firers, this incident would not have happened. We didn’t even want to live in the warehouse, but (the Israelis) forced us to live there,” she told CNN, referring to the derogatory term used to appease Israeli soldiers.

“I blame (the Israelis) for killing children. He spared no one,” he added.

Abu Jibba was once amiable and friendly. When her siblings were murdered in front of her, she became silent and deeply depressed. Her aunt, who had gone to Qatar with her, told CNN that the little girl now prefers solitude, and is rarely leaving the house. She spends much of her life looking at photographs of her people taken before the war – some photographs she still has.

She said that the source of her happiness was her brother’s friend Mohammed. The two met when her people were displaced from their home in Gaza Town and united after the January attack. When Abu Jibba and his men were separated, and he was admitted to hospital, Mohammed was in desperate need of emotional support. She said they were committed to seeking marriage.

“She didn’t care what people were saying about my looks, when people would say, ‘How can you marry her after her eyes and body are injured?’ He’d say, ‘I don’t care about her body, I care about what’s in her heart,'” she told CNN.

Seven days before he left Gaza for treatment at Abu Jibba, Mohammed was killed by an artillery shell while collecting firewood in Rafah, he said, adding that his cousin who was with Mohammed was wounded in the attack and Lost his leg.

Abu Jibba said he did not have any photos of Mohammed because his phone was lost in the massacre.

Abu Jibba’s injuries were so severe that Gaza’s health ministry placed it on a list of people seeking treatment in another country. Three days after CNN’s report on Abu Jibba aired in February, he was cleared for scientific evacuation. Over the next few weeks of waiting, she was able to travel to Egypt and was then flown to Qatar for treatment.

Many of the 2.2 million Palestinians living in Gaza have never left the Strip. Before the war, about 18,000 Gazans had a painting permit allowing them to paint in Israel. However, when Hamas announced its deadly terrorist attack from Gaza on October 7, Israel closed the borders, usually allowing only foreigners and a few hundred of the most seriously injured to pass through.

“It is difficult to leave your family, especially in times of war and difficult circumstances,” he said. “I’m worried that something else might happen to them and I can’t bring them with me.”

Abu Jibba told CNN that he decided to leave because he thought doctors could correct his vision surgically. In Egypt, she was told this would not be possible as her entire scenes were removed, but she was provided additional treatment by the Qatari government.

However his stay in Doha has become another harrowing experience.

The doctor told her that Qatar does not trade in orbital prosthetic implants and said hers were just “cosmetic”.

Research has long shown that optic prostheses significantly improve patients’ physical and mental health. Prosthetics are made from man-made eyes lacking any part of the eye, eyelids, and visual socket or any part of the figure segment. It is an economical and not more difficult backup to reconstructive surgical operation and is performed automatically internationally.

As soon as Abu Jibba left his job as a doctor, the burden of the week hit him. She shook and started panting. Panic spread everywhere and she felt as if she was reliving the worst week of her life. He pressed his arms towards his ears, leaning against the wall.

The nurses laid him on a stretcher. She curled straight into a ball and hid under the blanket.

She stays away from her mother, fearing that the trauma may cause her even more pain.

“She inspired me to go get the surgery. I don’t want to go back to him with this patch,” she said. “I (need it) so that my mother doesn’t see me like this and not be sad.”

Near that occasion, Abu Jibba told CNN that what she wanted more than everyone else was to return to Gaza.

“Yes, there is a war going on in Gaza but at least you are with your family and loved ones,” he said. “I hope to God that this war ends… but even if there is a war, I want to go back.”