Trapped In Gaza, Injured Mother 'Wishes To Die Together With Daughters'

Displaced Palestinians move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate

The basement walls in Gaza City tremble with each explosion as Noor Abu Hassira and her three daughters seek shelter in the dimly lit space. Through a small elevated window, they can barely see outside, but the constant drone buzzing and thunderous airstrikes suggest Israeli forces are advancing closer.

Abu Hassira remains despite evacuation warnings from Israel. Severe leg injuries from an early-war airstrike have left her largely immobile. Like many others in devastated Gaza, she cannot afford the $2,000 she estimates would be needed to relocate to southern Gaza and establish a tent in a displacement camp.

While most of Gaza City's pre-war population of one million has fled southward during the 23-month conflict, Abu Hassira has been mostly confined to bed—except for eleven relocations within the city to escape Israeli military operations. With her husband detained in an Israeli prison, she and her young daughters—Jouri, Maria, and Maha—are among hundreds of thousands still remaining in Gaza City.

"It feels like we're just waiting to die, I don't really care that much anymore," Abu Hassira communicated via text.

Israel maintains its offensive aims to eliminate Hamas and free hostages captured during the attack that triggered the war. The military says it takes measures to reduce civilian casualties.

Even if the Abu Hassira family somehow reached southern Gaza, their challenges would persist.

"I'm afraid to live in a tent with my daughters. I'm afraid we will drown in the winter. I'm afraid of insects. How will we get water?" she expressed.

Eight months before the conflict began, Abu Hassira and her family had moved into a Gaza City apartment. She worked as a medical laboratory technician while her husband Raed was a journalist for a media outlet suspected of Hamas connections. Abu Hassira denied her husband was affiliated with the militant group.

Their eldest daughter Jouri attended elementary school, Maria was preparing to start kindergarten, and Maha was still an infant.

"We worked and saved for 10 years to have a comfortable, nice home - our dream house. Now it's gone," she lamented.

Following Hamas militants' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 and abducted 251 people, Israel responded with intense bombardment across Gaza and a ground invasion. By December, the Abu Hassiras' apartment building was hit.

The impact caused a concrete pillar to collapse onto Abu Hassira, crushing her shoulders, back, and legs, and rendering her unconscious. Her daughters were also buried under debris, though all survived.

Abu Hassira regained consciousness at Shifa Hospital, where daughter Maria lay beside her suffering from a fractured skull.

Israeli forces had previously raided the hospital, accusing Hamas of using it as a base. Resources were scarce, the facility overcrowded with displaced families, and medical staff overwhelmed by constant casualty arrivals.

Her husband sent their other two daughters to stay with an uncle while he cared for mother and daughter at the hospital.

"He would change my diapers, my clothes," Abu Hassira recalled. "I lay on my back for three months, and he took care of me, combed my hair, and bathed me."

In March 2024, Israeli troops conducted another raid on the hospital, arresting numerous men including Abu Hassira's husband. He joined hundreds of Palestinian men detained during the war whose status and whereabouts remain unclear.

She has received no direct communication from him, although Addameer, a Palestinian legal aid organization, reported an attorney visited him in an Israeli prison last November. Israel's prison service, Shin Bet intelligence agency, and military declined to explain the reason for his arrest or his detention location.

"Maha was just over a year old when they took her father away," Abu Hassira said. "She's never once said the word 'daddy.'"

Israel's military reported killing approximately 200 militants during two weeks of operations inside the extensive Shifa hospital complex. The World Health Organization documented 21 patient deaths during the siege. Israel denied harming civilians.

Abu Hassira, who said soldiers instructed her to evacuate, fled the incursion carrying only one bag, leaving behind her wheelchair and most clothing and food. The family spent the remainder of the year moving between different locations as Israel conducted operations throughout Gaza City.

"The hardest part is living at other people's homes ... especially with small children, and everything is expensive. I had no clothes or belongings, so I had to use theirs," she explained.

In fall 2024, Israel largely isolated northern Gaza, including Gaza City, initiating major ground operations and severely limiting humanitarian assistance. Clean water became scarce. They subsisted primarily on bread. Jouri, her eldest, became malnourished and ill.

"I felt weak, lonely, helpless," Abu Hassira admitted. "I was terrified my daughters would die and I couldn't do anything for them."

A neighbor volunteered to take Jouri to a malnutrition program where the girl began recovering.

A long-anticipated ceasefire took effect in January, sparking hopes the war might conclude. Hundreds of thousands returned to Gaza City, Abu Hassira's extended family reunited, and Israel permitted humanitarian aid deliveries.

However, Israel broke the ceasefire in March, resuming airstrikes after halting imports of food, medicine, and other essentials—a complete blockade only partially relaxed 2½ months later.

In Gaza City, families like the Abu Hassiras frequently lack food, which costs ten times pre-war prices: about $180 for a kilogram of sugar and $60 for a kilogram of flour.

Over 65,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government, but UN agencies and many independent experts consider its casualty figures the most reliable estimate available.

International experts determined in August that Gaza City was experiencing famine. Weeks afterward, Israel launched an offensive to occupy the city, claiming this was necessary to pressure Hamas into releasing 48 remaining hostages, approximately 20 of whom Israel believes remain alive.

Abu Hassira has seen evacuation notices dropped by Israeli aircraft. Many neighbors have departed.

Yet she can barely walk, and transportation south would cost around $900. A tent would cost approximately $1,100, she estimates, with uncertain placement options. The Israeli-designated humanitarian zone primarily consists of crowded camps and destroyed structures. Families relocating to new displacement areas have found them sparse and dangerous, with armed groups demanding rent payments.

For now, Abu Hassira and her daughters remain in her parents' basement in the formerly upscale Rimal neighborhood near the Mediterranean coast. She cannot cook or wash herself and spends her days either sitting in a chair or lying down. She requires assistance to use the bathroom.

"I wish my daughters and I would die together before we are forced to leave," she said. "We are exhausted."