Rami’s son, Walid, is only 2 years old. His father tries to “play the clown” but, despite his young age, he is not fooled by the situation in Gaza since October 7.
They decided to stay, despite the bombings. Rami, his wife and their 2-year-old son, Walid, live in an apartment in the heart of Gaza City. If hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are asking themselves the question of fleeing the north of the Gaza Strip, relentlessly shelled by the Israeli army since October 7 and the Hamas attacks, the little family has made its choice.
And this, despite that morning, when at 7 a.m., an Israeli missile had just fallen on the street where dozens of Gazans still live, including Rami, his wife Sabah and little Walid. Rami searches for his son in the smoke and rubble. Fortunately, one of his neighbors reassures him, Walid is safe and sound, as is his wife. “It bombed right next door, downstairs from my housecomments Rami. It’s total panic.” There were only minor injuries, hit by shards of concrete. This is the first time that the building of Rami and his family has been hit so closely since the start of the offensive. “The women were on the ground floor and it’s a miracle, we’re all still alive”exclaims Rami.
“He understands what’s going on.”
Faced with war, Walid’s parents try to keep up appearances. “My son is 2 years old, he understands what is happeningadmits Rami. He hears the bombings, especially at night. He wakes up shaken several times, but I try to act a little clown.” Play the clown, show him his favorite cartoons. And every night, Rami uses the same ritual. “I make him believe that all that is happening around us are fireworks and that there is no danger. He looks me in the eyes, especially when it bombs too loudly, we applaud . But at the same time, he understands what’s happening. He looks at me and says to himself: ‘I know you’re lying’. But we deal with it. He sees the fire, he sees how the night turns red.”
“Gaza has become a children’s cemetery”, denounced the UN Secretary General in recent days. Hamas says 10,500 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war with Israel. Among them are 4,300 minors. The Islamist movement also mentions thousands of injured.
“To stay is to die with dignity”
For two days, ground fighting has been moving closer to downtown Gaza, pushing residents into an exodus towards the south of the Palestinian enclave, but not Rami, who wants to stay at home whatever the cost. “Staying is really a choice, it’s not suicide. I don’t want to kill myself and my son. It’s a choice, because leaving is the “total humiliation. It’s dying slowly. Staying is dying with dignity, it’s the most difficult decision I’ve made in my entire life.” On Tuesday, 50,000 people fled southern Gaza, on foot or on carts pulled by donkeys. At the start of the conflict, there were barely 2,000 of them making this trip every day.