Muhammad Mazen

Today was a hard day for me. On October 8, 2023, I posted this photo. The only thing I knew then was that these children had been killed in Khan Younis. I didn’t know their names, their ages, who they were, or how they had been killed. I had never seen a photo of them when they were alive. It wasn’t until yesterday that I came across this photo again on my phone. Something in me told me that I needed to know this family, to name them, to know their story, and to share it with others. The mainstream media betrayed these children and their families. You will find no reporting about what I’m sharing here in any mainstream media outlet. On October 8, 2023, Israel bombed the Abu Hamad family home in Khan Younis. The attack killed 18 people. Among the victims were Hussein (33), Shaymaa (29), and their five children: Layan (7), Judy (6), Sham (3), and the twins, Osyad and Mohammad (3 months old). Yes, I looked at the photo again, and the two smallest victims on the right side of the photo were the twins. Among the other victims were Hussein’s brother, as well as four siblings from the extended family. The victims also included two elderly women, both aged 68. I created a family tree and also found a photograph of Hussein and his three children. The twins had not yet been born when the photo was taken. Some of you probably watched NAZA. The terrorist Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers mentioned that they were hacking into the phones of families, listening as children asked about their fathers. I keep wondering if one of them listened to seven-year-old Layan talking to her mother or father. I keep wondering if these Israeli soldiers heard the cries of the three-month-old twins. Words fail me.