I lost my hair in an Israeli air strike. Now other children are scared of me
Hala Abu Dahleez was playing on a swing in the sprawling Al-Mawasi refugee camp in southern Gaza when she was caught in an Israeli air strike. The impact of the blast ripped the swing's metal structure apart and its heavy iron chains wrapped around her head, tearing parts of her hair and scalp away.
Hala spent five days in a coma and her scalp was re-attached to her head using 175 stitches. But she told The Telegraph that she can barely leave her tent in Khan Younis, where she has been living since she was displaced from Al-Mawasi.
'I used to be more beautiful,' she said. 'I want to play with other children again like I used to. When I go out, the children are afraid of me and everyone asks me: 'Why don't you have any hair?''
Her family and doctors are calling for help to get her out of the Strip where she can get skin grafts and plastic surgery procedures that the remaining hospitals in Gaza struggle to carry out.
Hala still carries around clumps of her plaited long brown hair that was torn from her head, refusing to throw it away until new hair is able to grow back. Her injuries have left her with severe ulcers and infections.
'I want to get a hair transplant and return to how I was before the bombing,' she said through tears. 'Before the war, I used to go to school, meet my friends, and play with them. Now ... I have no hair and no school to go to.'
Hala is one of more than 50,000 children in Gaza who have been killed or injured in Israel's 21-month war against Hamas and nearly every child in Gaza has been displaced. Israel disputes these figures.
She was injured on March 26 but her story is only being told now, four months later, as extraordinary pictures emerged showing the extent of her injuries as she held the lock of her hair that she lost. It is not clear what the intended target of the March air strike was.
When Hala was injured in the blast, the children she had been playing with told her mother she had died. They had seen her laying bloodied on the ground, her head torn apart.
She is the oldest of seven children and her parents – both injured in separate shillings – said they are struggling to find food and medicine.
'Some people help us buy medicine and dressings. She needs an IV bag and sterile gauze daily. We can not provide Hala with good, healthy food,' said Mayada Yousef Dahleez, Hala's mother.
'She needs medical daily care, and hardly a day goes by without crying and remembering her hair,' she added.
Ongoing border closures have so far prevented Hala's evacuation. Her family fear she could contract further infections if her health deteriorates.
Her story emerged as Israel intensified its bombardment of the Strip over the last two weeks.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they try to minimise harm to civilians, but there have been mounting casualties in recent days, with accusations that dozens more civilians have been killed while seeking aid.
Just last week, six children were among 10 civilians killed in an IDF missile strike while collecting water in Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military claimed a 'technical error' was behind the attack.
The escalating strikes over the weekend brought the death toll in Gaza to more than 58,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Women and children make up more than half of those killed, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said the war cannot end until Hamas is dismantled and disarmed and the 50 hostages, only 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, are freed. Hamas wants a genuine withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza to end the war.
Despite optimism last week, talks are threatening to collapse under the weight of Israel's reported demands to keep its troops in roughly one third of Gaza and retain a buffer zone around Rafah, which Hamas has rejected.
Israel's hard-line leadership's plans to create a 'humanitarian city' on the ruins of Rafah, in which the Strip's two million people could be herded in, vetted and prevented from leaving could also torpedo talks.
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Israel sends tanks into Gaza's Deir al-Balah, hostage families concerned
CAIRO, July 21 (Reuters) - Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes hostages may be held. The area is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of whom fled west or south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it sought to destroy infrastructure and capabilities of the militant group Hamas. Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said. To the south in Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people, including a husband and wife and their two children in a tent, medics said. In its daily update, Gaza's health ministry said at least 130 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the territory in the past 24 hours, one of the highest such totals in recent weeks. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis incidents. Israeli sources have said the reason the army had stayed out of the Deir al-Balah districts was because they suspected Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Families of the hostages have expressed concern for their relatives and demanded an explanation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and the army chief of how they will protect them. "The people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages - both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn't know what was at stake," the Hostage Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement. Gaza health officials have warned of potential "mass deaths" in coming days from hunger, which has killed at least 19 people since Saturday, the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said. Health officials say hospitals have been running out of fuel, food aid and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations. Health ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran said medical staff have been depending on one meal a day and that hundreds of people flock to hospitals every day, suffering from fatigue and exhaustion. In southern Gaza, the health ministry said an Israeli undercover unit had on Monday detained Marwan Al-Hams, head of Gaza's field hospitals, in a raid that killed a local journalist and wounded another outside a field medical facility run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. An ICRC spokesperson said the ICRC had treated patients injured in the incident but did not comment further on their status. It said it was "very concerned about the safety and security" around the field hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across Gaza during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. Sending undercover forces to carry out arrests is rare. The incursion into Deir al-Balah and growing number of deaths appeared to be complicating efforts to secure a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with U.S. backing. A Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday that the militant group was angered by the mounting death toll and hunger crisis, and that this could affect the talks on a 60-day truce and hostage deal. UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said on X it was receiving desperate messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff, as food prices have soared. "Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale," it said. The health ministry said on Sunday at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for U.N. aid trucks to enter Gaza. It said at least 36 aid seekers were killed a day earlier. Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots to remove what it said was "an immediate threat." It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated. Israel's military said it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community". The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed over 59,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Middle East latest: Israeli military launches ground assault on central Gaza city of Deir al Balah
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The countries have called on the Israeli government to "immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid" and to "urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively". "We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region," the joint statement adds. The statement has been signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. 14:11:00 Number killed in Gaza rises to 59,000, health ministry says Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says that over 59,000 people have now been killed in the enclave since the war began. In a statement on Telegram, the ministry says 59,029 people have been killed and over 142,135 injured since 7 October 2023, when Hamas carried out their terrorist attack. It should be noted that the ministry does not differentiate between civilian and Hamas fighter deaths. Earlier, Gaza medics said at least three Palestinians had been killed and several wounded by Israeli tank shelling that hit three mosques and eight houses in Deir al Balah today. It came as Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the central Gazan city o for the first time. 13:45:01 Who are the Bedouins and the Druze? The conflict between the Bedouin armed tribes and the Druze militia in Syria's southern district of Sweida has led to hundreds of deaths. But who are the two factions? Bedouins The Bedouins are traditionally nomadic, Arabic-speaking tribes who live in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa. In Syria, Bedouins have primarily lived in the al-Badia desert, which covers much of the country's south and east, including provinces like Sweida. Bedouin tribes in Syria follow Sunni Islam and have clashed with the Druze sect for a long time. Druze The Druze religious sect is an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. About half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria, with most others in Lebanon and Israel, including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Druze largely celebrated the downfall of Bashar al Assad in December after an almost 14-year civil war, but were divided over interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former militant linked to al Qaeda who led Islamist rebels to overthrow the Syrian autocrat. A few months after the transition, government forces clashed with pro-Assad armed groups on Syria's coast, spurring sectarian attacks killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which the former president belongs. The violence left other minority groups, including the Druze in the south, and the Kurds in the northeast, increasingly mistrustful of the new Sharaa government and worried whether it would protect them. Multiple Druze militias have existed for years, originally set up to protect their communities against ISIS and drug smugglers - and they have been reluctant to lay down their arms. 13:22:48 Gaza doctor 'abducted by Israeli special forces', health ministry says The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the director of a hospital in the south of the enclave has been abducted by Israeli forces. It said Dr Marwan Al Hams, director of Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital in southern Gaza and a spokesperson for the health ministry, was taken by an Israeli special forces unit this afternoon. The ministry called Dr Al Hams "one of the most prominent humanitarian and medical voices" and said his abduction "represents a direct targeting of the voice of the sick, the hungry and the suffering" in Gaza. "We hold the occupation fully responsible for Dr Al Hams's safety and demand his immediate and unconditional release," a statement said. Israel has not yet publicly commented on this story. 12:56:09 Israeli action in central Gaza 'makes no sense at all' Israel's latest action in central Gaza "makes no sense at all", military analyst Michael Clarke has said. Earlier, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said an Israeli ground assault had begun in Deir al Balah in central Gaza - an area that has been left relatively untouched. "By and large in other parts of Gaza they are bombing the rubble but in this part of Gaza they haven't conducted so many operations," Clarke said. "They are moving into an area now that has been left relatively untouched until now. "They have said they think some of the Israeli hostages are there but by the time they move in they won't be there. "At least 40% of the tunnel network that Hamas had is still sufficiently intact for Hamas to move around and the hostages will be moved." Clarke said the move by Israel is a "process of trying to drive the Gazan population to a strip on the coast". He added: "What will happen to the rest of Gaza? Who knows. "Elements in the Israeli government say they will retake the Gaza Strip - they will re-colonise it again. "But Netanyahu isn't exactly saying that - and it is not clear what he thinks because they don't seem to have a plan they are prepared to share with the rest of the world for what happens next." 12:28:56 Pope warns against 'indiscriminate use of force' on Gaza civilians Pope Leo has warned against the "indiscriminate use of force" and the "forced mass displacement" of people in the Gaza strip in a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today, the Vatican has said. During the call, the pope also renewed an appeal for respect of international and humanitarian law. The Vatican also said that the pontiff had taken a call with Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday during which he urged a "renewed push" for an end to the conflict. "We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions," Pope Leo said, "and to respect people and sacred places and try to leave behind all the violence and the hatred". 12:08:37 Smoke rises from Deir al Balah as Israeli tanks begin ground assault Here are the latest scenes in central Gaza, where smoke has been seen rising above the city of Deir al Balah. The Israeli military earlier issued an evacuation order for the area, which is densely populated and full of displaced families living in tents. Israel has not previously targeted the city, Gaza medics have since said at least three Palestinians have been killed and several wounded by Israeli tank shelling that hit three mosques and eight houses. A number of the Israeli hostages still being held captive by Hamas are assumed to be in the Deir al Balah area. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said it had suspended shipments to the city because of an Israeli ground assault It said that thousands of displaced people are living in this area, including MAP staff, and the latest orders by Israel "directly endanger vital humanitarian and primary healthcare sites". 11:43:31 Erdogan praises Syrian leader's 'very positive' step Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has praised his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al Sharaa for showing a strong stance and not compromising in Syria's conflict with Israel. In comments to Turkish media, Erdogan said Syria's government had established some control in Sweida and the country's south with around 2,500 soldiers, with all but one Druze faction agreeing to respect the ceasefire during talks in Amman. He also told reporters on his flight returning from northern Cyprus that al Sharaa took a "very positive" step by reaching an understanding with the Druze. And when it came to the US, Erdogan said Washington now understood it needed to "own" the issue more, warning that Israel using the fighting as an excuse to invade Syrian lands. 11:18:54 Hundreds of Bedouins being evacuated from Sweida Hundreds of Bedouin civilians are being evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida today as part of a US-backed truce meant to end fighting that has killed hundreds of people. Shoaib Asfour, a member of the Syrian security forces overseeing the evacuation, told Reuters that the initial batch included some 300 Bedouins and a second group of about 550 civilians will be evacuated within the next 24 hours if the situation remains calm. The next phase would see the evacuation of Bedouin fighters detained by Druze militias and the transfer of bodies of Bedouins killed in the fighting, Asfour said. Syria's state news agency said a total of 1,500 Bedouins would be evacuated from Sweida city. With hundreds reported killed, the violence in the southern province of Sweida has posed a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. A ceasefire took hold on Sunday as interior ministry security forces deployed on Sweida's outskirts. And interior minister Anas Khattab said the truce would allow for the release of hostages and detainees held by the warring sides. You can watch our special correspondent Alex Crawford reporting on the fragile ceasefire here... 10:53:22 Netanyahu court appearance delayed after food poisoning Over in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has had his upcoming hearings in his corruption trial postponed after getting food poisoning. The Israeli leader has been ordered by doctors to conduct state affairs from home for the next three days after being diagnosed with intestinal inflammation and dehydration. The next court appearance will not come before September now. Netanyahu's office said: "In accordance with his doctors' instructions, the prime minister will rest at home for the next three days and will manage state affairs from there." Why is Netanyahu on trial? Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which Netanyahu denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty. Case 4000 Prosecutors allege Netanyahu granted regulatory favours worth around $500m to Bezeq Telecom Israel. In return, prosecutors say, he sought positive coverage of himself and his wife Sara on a news website controlled by the company's former chairman, Shaul Elovitch. Case 1000 Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust over allegations that he and his wife wrongfully received almost $210,000 in gifts from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer and an Israeli citizen, and Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. Prosecutors said gifts included champagne and cigars and that Netanyahu helped Milchan with his business interests. Packer and Milchan face no charges. Case 2000 Netanyahu allegedly negotiated a deal with Arnon Mozes, owner of Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, for better coverage in return for legislation to slow the growth of a rival newspaper.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Israel sends tanks into Gaza's Deir al-Balah, raising concerns among hostage families
CAIRO, July 21 (Reuters) - Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes some of the remaining hostages may be held. The area is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of whom fled west or south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it sought to destroy Hamas capabilities and infrastructure. Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said. To the south in Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people, including a husband and wife and their two children in a tent, medics said. In its daily update, Gaza's health ministry said at least 130 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the territory in the past 24 hours, one of the highest such totals in recent weeks. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis incidents. Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out of the Deir al-Balah districts is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Families of the hostages have expressed concern for their relatives and demanded an explanation from the army of how it would protect them. Gaza health officials have meanwhile warned of potential "mass deaths" in the coming days due to worsening hunger, which has killed at least 19 people since Saturday, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Health officials say hospitals have been running out of fuel, food aid, and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations. Health ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran said medical staff have been depending on one meal a day, and that hundreds of people flock to hospitals every day, suffering from fatigue and exhaustion because of hunger. In southern Gaza, the health ministry said an Israeli undercover unit had detained Marwan Al-Hams, head of Gaza's field hospitals, on Monday in a raid that killed a local journalist and wounded another outside a field medical facility run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. An ICRC spokesperson said the ICRC had admitted and treated patients injured in the incident but would not comment further on their status in order to protect their privacy. It said it was "very concerned about the safety and security" around the field hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across Gaza during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. Sending undercover forces to carry out arrests has been rare. The incursion into Deir al-Balah and escalating number of deaths appeared to be complicating the latest push for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with U.S. backing. A Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday that the militant group was angered over the mounting death toll and the hunger crisis, and that this could affect the talks on a 60-day truce and hostage deal. UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said in a post on X on Monday that it was receiving desperate messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff as food prices have increased 40-fold. "Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale," it said. On Sunday, the health ministry said at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for U.N. aid trucks to enter Gaza, after saying at least 36 aid seekers were killed a day earlier. Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots to remove what it said was "an immediate threat." It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated. Israel's military also said it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community". The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
