From a Sparkling Tiara to Hospital Bed: The Perils Faced by a Palestinian Girl
Three-year-old Joudi, adorned in a gray dress with an ice cream cone, remains silent for 16 days Her vacant gaze reflects the chaos in Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, as civil order crumbles and urgent evacuation becomes imperative
Joudi's father reveals that his three-year-old daughter has not spoken for the past 16 days. She is dressed in a gray outfit with an image of an ice cream cone and sits in bed at Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, with a blank expression in her eyes.
Her forehead is covered with bandages, with a fragment of shrapnel still embedded in her head.
She sustained injuries while her family was escaping from their residence in Al Karama Towers in northern Gaza City. They had been attempting to reach the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, hoping for safety, when an airstrike targeted a vehicle close to theirs.
The Palestinian enclave of Gaza, home to over 2 million people, has been enduring bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for over three weeks. This comes as a response to the horrifying terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas, the governing militant group in the region, on October 7 in Israel. Israeli authorities report that the attack resulted in the death of over 1,400 Israelis and foreigners, including numerous children, while more than 220 people were taken hostage.
The Israeli airstrikes, supposedly aimed at Hamas, have resulted in a devastatingly high number of civilian casualties.
According to the statistics gathered by the Ministry of Health in Ramallah (controlled by Hamas), the death toll stands at a staggering figure of around 8,000 Palestinians, including approximately 3,300 children.
Save the Children reports that the number of children killed in Gaza over the past three weeks surpasses the annual casualties of armed conflicts worldwide since 2019.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah has reported that over 20,000 individuals have been injured.
Moving south
The IDF has advised residents in northern Gaza, the primary target of the airstrikes, to evacuate and head south. However, not everyone is able to do so, and the journey itself poses significant risks, considering the Israeli bombardment occurring in both the southern and northern regions.
Hala Bin Naeem, a 13-year-old, hails from Beit Hanoun, a city located in the northeastern part of Gaza. She shared that her family, following the instructions of the IDF, relocated from their home on October 7. Initially, they sought refuge at the Deir al-Balah refugee camp, and later moved to Khan Younis and Rafah. All three locations fall within the designated area south of the Wadi Gaza, which serves as a dividing waterway in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, restated the call on Sunday, urging civilians to prioritize their safety by temporarily relocating to a safer area south of Wadi Gaza. However, despite complying with this advice, the Halas family was not able to avoid being targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
Hala told CNN her sisters-in-law were killed in an airstrike on October 11. Her niece and sister were also injured in the attack. It is unclear where the strike happened.
Joudi, 3, is shown in the photo at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. She was wounded during Israeli airstrikes while her family was escaping their residence in northern Gaza. According to her father, she has been silent for weeks due to the trauma she has experienced.
In Gaza City, a grieving Palestinian man is seen mourning beside the lifeless body of his child, tragically lost as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Startlingly, the number of children who have lost their lives in Gaza over the past three weeks exceeds those lost in armed conflicts worldwide annually since 2019, as reported by Save the Children.
Abed Khaled/AP
Eyewitnesses told CNN that Deir al-Balah was struck on Friday evening, alongside other locations in central Gaza.
"We were enjoying a peaceful existence, when all of a sudden, we were startled by loud bangs and commotion. Our sense of security immediately evaporated as chaos ensued," Hala shared with CNN from the Deir al-Balah refugee camp.
"When we visited the schools, the atmosphere had become perilous, growing more hazardous with each passing day. We are truly terrified...I fervently wish for an end to the war, so that we can return to a semblance of normalcy and ultimately emerge victorious," she expressed.
Hala described the camp as a dire situation, emphasizing the difficulty in acquiring an adequate amount of water for the young children and enduring long hours at the bakery just to obtain bread for sustenance. She expressed that the situation deteriorates with each passing day.
Civil order starting to break down
UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency dedicated to assisting Palestinian refugees, reported on Sunday that "thousands" of individuals in dire need broke into its warehouses, seizing essential supplies such as wheat, flour, and hygiene products.
UNRWA reported that a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, the refugee camp where Hala is taking shelter, was among those that had been breached. Thomas White, the director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, expressed concern over the breakdown of civil order, attributing it to three weeks of war and a strict siege on Gaza. He emphasized that people were feeling scared, frustrated, and desperate.
He claimed that the present assistance provided to Gaza does not adequately fulfill the essential requirements of the vulnerable communities struggling to survive. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, a mere 118 trucks carrying supplies have managed to access Gaza, through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, since the limited allowance granted last week. This remains the sole entry point into the enclave at present.
Another 59 trucks arrived at the border on Monday morning.
But that amount is a drop in the ocean, aid groups say.
People take the bodies of their loved ones killed by Israeli attacks out of the mortuary of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza on October 28.
Before the war, Gaza used to receive 455 trucks per day, according to the UN. However, the IDF announced on Sunday that they anticipate an increase in the number of aid trucks entering Gaza soon. Additionally, they dismissed claims of shortages in food, water, or medicine, despite the complete closure imposed by Israel in response to the Hamas attack on October 7.
Elad Goren, the Head of Civil Affairs Department for COGAT, announced that a joint mechanism has been established between the U.N., the U.S., and Egypt to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza. Goren expressed concerns about the contents of the trucks and mentioned that inspections are being conducted. He also mentioned that there will be an increase in the number of trucks in the coming days.
Furthermore, the already dire humanitarian situation was exacerbated by a complete communication blackout that occurred from Friday to Sunday morning.
Ibrahim Dahman, a producer for CNN stationed in Gaza, expressed the difficulties people faced in trying to contact their loved ones in the enclave. Dahman shared his concerns through multiple brief voice recordings sent to his CNN colleagues on Saturday. He utilized a foreign SIM card on his phone, enabling him to have sporadic communication through WhatsApp.
"Even if they were subjected to shelling, or to be killed or wounded, I wouldnt know anything," he said.
Dahman said on Monday that his parents were safe.
Hospital urged to evacuate
Meanwhile, people being treated at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, including 3-year old Joudi, have found themselves facing more risk.
The IDF accused the hospital on Friday of serving as a significant Hamas command and control center. According to the IDF, Hamas was coordinating rocket attacks and commanding operations from underground bunkers beneath the hospital building. Hamas, however, denied these allegations. "If medical facilities are utilized for terrorist activities, they may forfeit their protection against attacks as per international law," Hagari stated during a briefing, implying that al-Shifa Hospital was a potential target for Israel.
Dr. Medhat Abbas, the director general of the health ministry in Gaza, assured CNN that the hospitals are solely dedicated to providing medical treatment and not used as shelters for anyone.
Currently, Joudi along with numerous other wounded children remain at the hospital.
Doctors are tirelessly striving to save a maximum number of individuals, however, the circumstances are increasingly challenging with each passing hour. As per authorities in local health, the hospital that can accommodate 700 patients is currently treating a staggering 5,000 individuals daily.
Officials state that patients are sprawled across the floors and corridors as the hospital continues to be inundated with a growing number of casualties, a situation further compounded by fuel shortages and a communication blackout.
The Joudis family possesses a recent video of their daughter, capturing her in a charming pink dress resembling a princess outfit, adorned with a shining tiara. Initially appearing bashful, she eventually breaks into a wide smile, directed towards the unseen person behind the camera.
Unfortunately, that joyful smile has now become a distant memory, with her tiara replaced by bandages. Joudi's father informed CNN that she is presently in a state of shock, refusing to consume food or beverages. She remains motionless, gazing into the horizon. According to doctors, Joudi has been left paralyzed, as the shrapnel lodged within her skull could not be removed.
Reported from Gaza, Hassan Eslayeh and Mohammad Al Sawalhi. Reporting and writing from Ashkelon, Israel, Ivana Kottasová. Reported from Jerusalem, Kareem Khadder and Abeer Salman. Reported from London, Sarah Diab. Contributions to this report were made by CNN's Andrew Carey, Radina Gigova, Amir Tal, Zeena Saifi, Chris Liakos, Richard Allen Greene, Manveena Suri, Eyad Kourdi, and Magdy Abbas.
