Sabreen Jouda was born just moments after her mother, father, and sister were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Rafah, Gaza Strip. The family had been trying to shelter from the war like many others in the city. Sabreen’s father and sister were killed instantly, but emergency responders discovered that her mother was 30 weeks pregnant. In a race against time at the hospital, medical workers performed an emergency cesarean section to save Sabreen’s life. She was born near death and was struggling to breathe in the hours after the attack.
On the day following the airstrike, Sabreen was placed in an incubator at a nearby hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. She was wearing a diaper too big for her and her identity was written on a piece of tape around her chest as “The martyr Sabreen al-Sakani’s baby.” Despite some progress in her health condition, doctors expressed that her situation was still at risk. Dr. Mohammad Salameh, head of the unit, described Sabreen as a premature orphan girl who had been deprived of the right to be in her mother’s womb at that time.
Ahalam al-Kurdi, Sabreen’s paternal grandmother, expressed her love and grief for the newborn, promising to take care of her as the daughter of her dear son. At least two-thirds of the more than 34,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the conflict began have been children and women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Another Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight had killed 17 children and two women from an extended family. Mirvat al-Sakani, Sabreen’s maternal grandmother, grieved for her son who was also killed in the attack and had not yet been recovered.
Following the attacks, survivors buried the dead in Rafah. Children were placed in body bags and laid into the ground as families wailed in grief. Little boys watched the burials, trying to maintain their footing at the edge of a grave. The devastating impact of the airstrikes was evident as families mourned the loss of their loved ones. The cycle of violence in Gaza has resulted in countless deaths and injuries, leaving families shattered and communities devastated. The story of Sabreen Jouda serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the toll that war takes on innocent lives, particularly on children who are caught up in the conflict.
