Dr. Izzeldin Abu-Laish is a Gaza gynecologist who practiced at Tel Aviv’s Soroka Hospital. He was beloved by his patients, Jewish and Arab, and by the hospital staff. During the Gaza war, he and his eight children (his wife had died of cancer earlier in the year) were confined to their home, where he called Israel’s Channel 10 news nightly with reports of how Gazans were coping during the fighting. On January 16th he walked out of his home for a moment and the tank which had sat in front of his home for some time fired two shells directly at his house. The second hit its mark. His three daughters, Bessan, Aya, and Mayar were killed along with a cousin.
Shortly after the shells hit their mark, Dr. Abu-Laish called Channel 10 begging for help. His cries, a father’s helpless cries live on the air are enough to rend the flesh and break the heart. For me, the Abu-Laish daughters should’ve been the Neda Aga Soltans of the Gaza war. The fact that they weren’t, but were rather a footnote and bit of collateral damage testifies to the hardened hearts of Israelis innured to 42 years of Palestinian (and Israeli) suffering and Occupation.
A website memorializing Dr. Abu Laish’s children is a magnificent offering to anyone touched, horrified, or heartbroken by this story, as I was when I first saw the video footage of his call to newscaster Shlomi Eldar.
H/t Kung Fu Jew.
As an American, I am so ashamed.
I doubt that anyone listening to that recorded interview w/Dr. Abuleish on that horrific day ….will ever forget the screams of agony and horror which the Isreali anchor guy received whilst talking with the doctor who was at home at that time… I remember watching that video over and over and over trying to detect any semblence of reaction/response from the anchor who was supposedly a friend of the doctor who screamed agonizingly that his daughters were killed…after the tank shells exploded in his living room…for all the Isreali television audience to hear and watch…He was sitting there with his tiny cell pone to a michrophone at the tv anchor desk and only after a few minutes did he leave the set to other anchors, supposedly to get some air and call teh DCO to stop the shelling…and allow for ambulances to get into the open prison of Jabaliya camp in Gaza during that barbaric military invasion of the people there….Dr.Abuleish has lost every close female relative in his family in the past year…his wife to cancer, his three daughters and a niece in that assault. It is unfathomable to me that anyone who could have witnessed that exchange could have anything but shame, grief and horror seeing the result of the iof latest gazan assault—but I continue to read about a ‘majority’ of Isrealis do not know or do not care and even support further military strikes against the Occupied people of Gaza and ongoing beatings, detentions and tortures in WB as well. thanks Richard for posting the story of his award ceremony…wondering if you’ll be posting the AFP press release about prize winning journalist Mohammed Omer’s brutal beating by shin bet –yesterday was the first anniversary of it and still no Isreali prosecution or even admission that it was a horrible mistake…Mohammed survived but with what are life long injuries for this 24 yr old writer now waiting for yet another surgery to relieve his pain. Folks need to write to the Dutch govt’s officials to put pressure on them for the witnessed the results of that brutal beating since Omer was in their custody for exit and return thru Jordan…/miriam
Miriam: I think you’re displeasure towards the news anchor is misplaced. From what I’ve heard he’s quite a good guy. How many other Israeli news outlets do you think were featuring daily reports fr. Gazans during the war?
Thanks for the reminder about Mohammed Omer. I’ll do what I can.
Richard,
Thanks for letting us know of this website.
Dr. Abu El-Aish and his late daughters, may they rest in peace, and all the family, deserve from us an increased commitment to make Israel-Palestine a better place.