By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza

“There are no words to express the extent of the pain I feel by losing my only son. By killing him, the occupation also killed me.”

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, starting on October 7, has left the population of the Strip with no safe place and no lifelines. 

Whole families have been wiped out or separated, many mothers have been forced to bid farewell to their children, and thousands of children have lost one or two parents. 

The Palestine Chronicle spoke to Umm Ammar, an elderly woman, whose only son was killed by Israel and is now left with no support whatsoever.

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‘My Handsome Son’

“My eldest and only son, Ammar, was our entire life. We relied on him after the death of his father, over 15 years ago. He was handsome, tall, with a wonderful golden beard, always smiling,” the woman said. 

Ammar had been diagnosed with kidney disease a few years ago, and the doctors prescribed kidney dialysis three times a week. During the war, he was deprived of treatment but he tried to keep going because he knew his mother and his daughters were relying on him.

“My husband died when Ammar was young, leaving me with a single son and three daughters. Ammar, at that time, was still in middle school, but he was already a man,” the woman said. 

“He took on our responsibilities from a young age and made sure to compensate for his father’s absence. He got married at a young age and had five children, three boys and two girls. Their eldest son was named Dawood, after his late father, as Ammar loved his father very much and was deeply attached to him,” the woman continued.

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Ammar had several jobs but he always made sure to be close to the family house, because he knew that his mother and sisters depended on him for everything. 

“He called me every day and asked me what I and my daughters needed. We were happy before the war, Ammar was like a precious gem and we did not want to lose him,” she said.

‘My Beloved’ 

On the tragic night of his killing, Ammar went out after the evening prayer to buy bread for his family.

“As soon as he walked a few meters away from our house, the occupation aircraft bombed a group of civilians. Ammar and three of our neighbors were martyred instantly. He was martyred in front of our house” Umm Ammar said. 

The woman heard the sound of bombing and she realized it was very close. So she ran towards her backyard and heard the neighbors saying somebody had been killed.

“I tried calling Ammar, but he didn’t answer. I started feeling anxious, and my breathing accelerated. But a few moments later, my neighbors told me that Ammar was seriously injured,” the woman told us.

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Umm Ammar rushed to the Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp. But when she reached the hospital, she found that her beloved son had been killed. 

“My only son, my support, my beloved, my friend, and my companion was killed, leaving me with the responsibility of caring for his sisters, children, and wife,” the woman said.

Next to His Father

“I have asked my relatives to bury Ammar next to his father, in the southern Nuseirat cemetery,” the woman said. 

“I used to go with Ammar to visit his father’s grave, but today, he is asleep next to his father. I will visit them together, not with Ammar, but with his children,” she continued.

“There are no words to express the extent of the pain I feel by losing my only son. By killing him, the occupation also killed me.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)