Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – It was 1am when the group of first responders in Khan Younis obtained the decision – there had been an Israeli air raid close by.
Alongside along with his colleagues, Sayyed Mohammed Abu Jamei rushed to the location and began digging by means of the rubble to search out any survivors. In the midst of scrabbling frantically by means of the particles, Sayyed discovered himself wanting on the physique of his personal brother, Hussein.
Within the early hours of October 24, shocked and grief-stricken, he listened as a close-by wailing grew louder – earlier than realising it was coming from himself.
Hussein’s mom, his spouse Hadeel Abu Abed and their kids all rushed to the hospital. They arrived just a few moments earlier than he was buried, managing solely a rushed last farewell inside a dangerously overcrowded morgue.
“They had one minute to say goodbye,” stated Sayyed, 46. “The kids had been in a position to kiss him. However his spouse and my mom solely checked out him for the final time.
“My mother wished she could kiss him, but she couldn’t because of the crowd.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera within the hospital’s ready space, Sayyed’s eyes drifted as he tried to sum up who his brother was: “He was decent, he was level-headed, he was polite,” he repeated, again and again.
Hussein was solely 32 when he died – killed by an Israeli missile that hit a residential neighbourhood in southern Khan Younis the place he was sheltering with mates and prolonged members of the family.
His dream was to repay some loans he had taken to construct a small condominium above his mum or dad’s home and to purchase a automobile. Ultimately, he needed to avoid wasting up sufficient to purchase a bit of land to construct a much bigger home for his spouse, three kids, and unborn child.
He usually advised his brother how a lot needed his kids to have a spot the place they might create stunning reminiscences. To attain this dream, Hussein labored lengthy hours as a driver, doing odd jobs from nightfall to daybreak within the besieged Gaza Strip.
“My brother was one of those people who you would like from the moment you met,” Sayyed stated. “He had an ease and calm about him that would draw people to him.”
Twenty days earlier than he was killed, Hussein had taken his pregnant spouse and three kids, Abdallah, 10, Ahmed, 7, and Hoda, three, to remain at his in-laws’ house in Bani Souhaila, additional south within the strip.
He had additionally left the household’s condominium within the east of Khan Younis and moved to the south of town.
A household torn aside
Once they fell in love, Hadeel and Hussein had already been neighbours for some time.
They’d a standard Palestinian wedding ceremony, full with a zaffeh (wedding ceremony procession) and have celebrated their wedding ceremony anniversary yearly.
“Hadeel was everything to him,” Sayyed stated. “He cherished and revered her, and tried to supply her with every thing she wanted.
“The day each of his children was born, Hussein was overjoyed and distributed sweets in the neighbourhood to share his joy,” Sayyed added.
“Hussein had a particular bond along with his youngsters. He was a baby at coronary heart and doted on his kids regardless of the hardships of his life.
“He made sure to take time out of his busy day to play with them and to do the things they liked to do. He even used to play with them in the street.”
Hussein missed his kids terribly in the course of the interval they had been separated, Sayyed stated. He tried to go see them as usually as he may – the final time was on the day earlier than he was killed. Regardless of the hazard, he checked additionally on his mother and father within the al-Zana district in japanese Khan Younis, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) away, each two to a few days.
“Hussein had a very warm and loving relationship with my parents and siblings. He was very attached to his kids and wife. God help them. He would make sure to help the children with their homework, he wanted them to excel. He would call them ‘Dr Abdallah’, ‘Dr Hoda’,” Sayyed stated, his voice trembling.
Requested about how Hussein’s spouse was doing, he stated despairingly: “We have 10,000 martyrs in Gaza. She reacted like any of the people who have lost loved ones.”
Sombre and exhausted, Sayyed considered what his brother would have needed if he had lived.
“He wasn’t a man of grand ambitions. He wanted what an average young man his age wanted: to be content, have a decent life, and live in peace.”
This text was produced in collaboration with Egab.
