Madlin Shaqlieh-Sawalhi

A 39-year-old mother to Zeinah, 13, from Gaza City, recounts losing her sister and infant niece in two separate bombings

On 6 October 2023, my sisters, Maram and Riham, and I were busy preparing a festive meal in honor of the return of our parents, Najah and Hamed Shaqlieh, from Turkey, which of course, never happened. My brothers live there and our father had gone there for medical treatment.

When the war broke out, we stayed at home, but after a week of heavy bombing, the Israeli army ordered residents of the northern Gaza Strip to move south. My husband and I moved to an IDP center in the a-Zawaydah area, in the central Gaza Strip, and our parents moved to my father’s sister’s house in Khan Yunis. My sister Riham, her husband and her children moved to a-Shati R.C., in the western part of Gaza City, and my sister Maram, who lives in a-Rimal neighborhood, moved with her husband, ‘Omar a-Rifi, and their five-month-old daughter Yumana, to her husband’s parents’ house in a-Sabra neighborhood.

On 17 October 2023, the house where Maram and her family were staying was bombed, and baby Yumana was killed. Maram was hit in the shoulder, relatively lightly, and mainly suffered from minor burns. Her sister-in-law Layla, who had a six or eight-week-old baby, Alina, was also killed in the bombing.

Maram was emotionally very unwell and wasn’t able to cope with the loss of her baby. When she was discharged from the hospital a few days later, we convinced her and her husband to go to my parents’ in Khan Yunis. I went there too, with Zeinah, and Maram told us about the bombing. She said that when it happened, she had just been bathing Yumana, and Layla and her baby Alina, were with her. Then she got some formula ready for Yumana, and suddenly, a heavy object fell on her shoulder. She said she heard Yumana crying and that the house filled up with white dust. She started crying out Yumana! Yumana! But at this point, Yumana had gone silent, and Maram realized she had been killed. Layla, who was injured, must have known she was going to die and asked Maram to take care of her baby.

That evening, I went back to a-Zawaydah, but Zeinah chose to stay with my parents and Maram, who was in bad shape, and Zeinah was very attached to her. A few days later, my husband and I returned to Gaza because we couldn’t stand living in the IDP camp. At that point, there was no military checkpoint on the way. Maram and her husband also went back to the home of relatives in Gaza City at the same time. Her father-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law were staying there too - lots of people. Zeinah stayed with my parents.

At that point, Maram, Riham and I were in Gaza City. I talked to them every chance I got, because things were really bad, especially in a-Shati R.C., where Riham was. Every time we spoke on the phone, we thanked God for still being alive. Then, communication in Gaza was cut off for two days all of a sudden, and when it came back on, around 28 October 2023, I tried calling Maram, but she didn’t answer. I tried again and again, and finally, Lubna, her husband’s sister, answered and told me Maram was killed the day before.

The news hit me like a bolt of lightning. I felt like I was living a nightmare. I didn’t expect to hear such a thing. Maram’s husband was seriously injured, in the neck and back, and he’s still at the European Hospital in east Khan Yunis.

Maram was killed about ten days after her baby and was buried without us being able to say goodbye to her. She got married about a year and a half before the war. She was a business management graduate, and she worked in the field. She was a vivacious person, with a sweet temper and a beautiful laugh. She loved her family very much and her home, which was always well-kept. She had many friends who loved her very much. She always looked after mom and dad, because she got married last and lived with them longer. When Yumana was born, she was so happy. She made a beautiful room for her and threw a party.

After she was killed, my dad encouraged me and Riham to move south to be with them. We went out with Riham’s kids, carrying a white flag, and managed to get to Khan Yunis. Two days later, my husband and Riham’s husband joined us.

Now I’m with my parents, Zeinah and my husband in the city of Deir al-Balah. Riham and I have three brothers who live in Turkey and a sister who lives in Norway. Since Maram was killed, Riham and I are the only ones left here with our parents.

* Testimony collected by B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 22 April 2024.