GAZA — “I’m from Tal al-Hawa in Gaza,” Amaal begins, her voice quiet but steady. “I was there during the first days of the Israeli assault. Then I fled to my family’s home in Rafah, thinking we would be safer there. But that’s where everything changed.”
An Israeli airstrike hit the house in Rafah, trapping the family beneath the rubble.
Among them was her only son, Khaled.
Khaled wasn’t just a child — he was a miracle, Amal says. After three difficult rounds of IVF, he and his twin brother were born. But only Khaled survived. His brother passed away just three days after birth, a victim of Gaza’s struggling neonatal care system.
Khaled was born fragile, weighing barely 1.5 kilograms. His condition was critical, and his mother rushed him to occupied Jerusalem, where he remained in the hospital for two months. “I never left his side,” she says. “He fought so hard to live.”
“And he did live. Not just survive — but truly live,” Amal adds.
At seven years old, Khaled was full of life. He played football, swam, and rode horses. He had dreams that danced behind his bright eyes. “He wasn’t just a child — he lit up every room. He filled our days with laughter and joy. Everyone who met him loved him, as if he was the only child in the world,” she recalls.
For his mother, Khaled wasn’t simply a son. He was her entire world — her purpose, her pride, her strength. “His smile was my hope. His energy gave me life,” she says. “He was the apple of my eye.”
Then came the morning of October 17, 2023.
“We were all together,” she remembers. “My parents, my brother, his wife and daughters — and Khaled. Then the house was hit.”
She pauses.
“I survived. I was buried under the rubble, but I was alive. So I thought they were alive too. I kept telling myself they were just trapped like me, that we’d all be rescued.”
But the truth slowly emerged.
“My father was gone. My brother. My sisters-in-law. My nieces. . And Khaled.”
“I still can’t accept it,” she says. “I can’t believe my child, who was my whole life, is gone. Even now, I wake up hoping I’ll hear his voice.”
The rubble was cleared. The funerals were held. But for her, the silence left behind is the loudest sound of all. “I gave everything to bring Khaled into this world,” she whispers. “And now… he’s gone.”
Seeking Justice for Khaled
Amal Almahmoud, Khaled’s mother, said she has filed a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and with the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council.
Her goal is to seek justice not only for her son, but for all the innocent children who have been killed in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza—an assault that has claimed the lives of over 17,000 Palestinian children since October 2023.
In addition to the loss of life, nearly 26,000 children have been orphaned or are now living without one or both parents as a result of the relentless attacks.
C. QNN
