DaysofPal- For Khaled Al-Qatati, known as Abu Abdullah, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has meant the near-total loss of his family, leaving him displaced and caring for just one surviving child after a series of deadly Israeli attacks over the past two years.
Now living in a tent in Gaza City, Abu Abdullah, originally from the al-Zeitoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza, said Israeli strikes killed his wife, children, siblings, and other relatives in successive attacks that he described as occurring house by house.
“This war was not a passing moment in my life,” he said.
“My wife was killed. My children were killed. Every month I lost someone, a brother, a cousin, a relative. The killings never stopped.” She added.
He recalled December 4, 2023, as a turning point. As Israeli forces were besieging al-Zeitoun, his wife and children went to the roof of their home to collect water. Moments later, an airstrike hit the area.
“We didn’t expect anything. Suddenly, there was a strike. When we went outside, we found my two children and my wife lying there,” he said.
The strike killed his wife and two of his children instantly, according to Abu Abdullah.
Days later, as fighting intensified, relatives sought shelter in his home. On December 8, 2023, after reports that Israeli tanks had pulled back, some family members briefly left to look for food and water.
Israeli aircraft then struck the house with two missiles, he said.
That attack killed several members of his extended family, including his sister and her husband, four of their children, and Abu Abdullah’s own five-year-old son.
“The losses kept coming, my father was killed, then cousins, an uncle, another sister and her child ,” he said.
Today, he says only one sister and a single child remain from what was once a large family.
“I have no one left except this sister and my son, Yusuf, there is no life after losing the people you love,” he added.
Yusuf, the only surviving child, now lives with his father in a tent. Speaking quietly, he described the hardships of displacement, particularly during winter storms that flooded their shelter and tore at its fabric.
“Life is very hard,” the boy said. Asked about losing his mother and siblings, he replied simply: “It’s very hard.”
Yusuf said his wish is for life to return to how it was, to sit and play with his brothers and see his mother again, a hope he already understands cannot be fulfilled.
Abu Abdullah said he often thinks of life before the war, including family moments such as his birthday on January 1, when his wife and children would surprise him with small gifts.
As the new year begins, his expectations are limited.
“I just want to live like other people, to find food and water and live with dignity,” he said, describing the daily struggle of life in a tent without adequate shelter or supplies.
Despite his losses, Abu Abdullah said he continues to hold onto one remaining hope: his son’s future.
“I want Yusuf to grow up, to learn, and to succeed. Education is the only hope left,” he said.
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