Iman Al Masry is exhausted. Next to her, on a worn mattresshas three of the quadruplets she gave birth to in the middle of the war between Hamas and Israel, after a tough journey from the north to the center of the Gaza Strip.
The mother and her newborns Yaser, Tia and Lynn have settled in a school classroom in Deir el Balah, in the center of the Strip, along with fifty other members of her family. His fourth son, Mohammad, is under observation in a hospital in Nuseirat, seven kilometers further north.
Like 1.9 million other displaced Gazans, according to UN data, Iman Al Masry had to flee the fighting between the Israeli army and the Islamist movement Hamas, which governs Gaza.
This 29-year-old woman had to quickly leave her home in Beit Hanun, in the north of the enclave, on the fifth day of the war that began on October 7, thinking that he could return soon.
“I took with me just a few summer clothes for the children. I thought that the war would not last more than a week or two, and that we would return to our house,” he says. -Tiredness-Six months pregnant, she traveled on foot with her three other small children the five kilometers that separate her house from the Jabaliya camp, where she found a means of transportation to continue to Deir el Balah. “The distance tired me and affected my pregnancy.
I went to see a doctor, and he told me that I had signs that I was going to have a premature birth,” she says. Eight months into her pregnancy, the doctors finally decided to give her a cesarean delivery.
The quadruplets were born on December 18, in the middle of the war unleashed by the surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, which left some 1,140 dead according to the latest official figures. In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas and unleashed an air and ground offensive that left more than 21,100 dead in Gaza, mostly children and women, according to the Islamist movement, and a desperate humanitarian situation.
In the tumult of war, Iman Al Masry has not even had time to recover. And due to lack of space in the hospitals, he had to leave, leaving behind his son Mohammad, who needs medical follow-up. “The health of the fourth baby was unstable. It only weighs one kilo; it may not survive,” explains this young Palestinian. “The other three babies were born healthy, praise God.” -Shortage of diapers-Iman Al Masry has not been able to see her newborn Mohammad since she was born. “I'm worried about him, but the road is dangerous” to visit him, she explains.
To follow him, she has a friend of her husband's, who lives in Nuseirat. The party planned to celebrate the birth of her baby was also cut short by the fight. She had planned to sprinkle them with rose water, “following our custom.” But since they were born ten days ago, “We haven't been able to bathe them,” he says sadly. His nutritional deficiencies also do not allow him to breastfeed sufficiently. And hygiene products are scarce.
“I use diapers with caution. In normal times I change them every two hours, but the situation is difficult, so I only change them in the morning and afternoon.” Faced with the difficulties of her family, her husband, Ammar Al Masry, confesses that he does not know very well what to do. “I feel helpless,” says this 33-year-old father, installed with his six children in the classroom, from where bad odors emanate. “I'm afraid for my children's lives, and I don't know how to protect them,” he admits. His premature baby girl, Tia, suffers from jaundice. “She needs to be breastfed to make the disease subside, and my wife needs to eat foods with proteins. But I can't give them to her. My children need milk and diapers,” lists this Gazan worker.
Ammar Al Masry spends his days outside trying to find “anything” to feed his family, and avoiding meeting his children's eyes, so as not to “feel guilty.”
KEMASKINI
RAHMAT DI SEBALIK PENDERITAAN
Iman Al Masry selamat melahirkan 4 anak kembar dengan pembedahan C Section di sebuah hospital di Selatan Gaza di sebalik sedang dalam situasi peperangan ketika ini
Dia pada pertengahan Oktober berpindah keluar dari Beit Hanoun di Utara… https://t.co/7naJcdeVDB pic.twitter.com/R8qTnexuhG
— Irfan_newboys🇲🇾🇵🇸🏳️🏴 (@Marchfoward) December 28, 2023
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