The Infants Among the War Dead
In the 10 months since the attacks of Oct. 7 that sparked the Israel-Hamas war, nearly 20,000 babies have been born in the Gaza Strip. And some 115 newborns have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, whose casualty figures are regarded as reliable by the U.N. and the U.S. government.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The twins Ayssel and Asser were less than 4 days old when their lives, and that of their mother, Joumana Arafa, ended in a bombing in the central Gaza city Deir al-Balah. Their father, Mohammed Abu al-Qumsan, was out retrieving their birth certificates Tuesday when he reportedly got a call from a neighbor, telling him the place he and his family had been sheltering was hit by an Israeli airstrike. His mother-in-law was also killed.
“What did my wife do to deserve dying with our children? My children were just 3 days old,” Abu al-Qumsan said in an interview with Turkish television, mournful but composed. “I had not yet celebrated them. She had not yet celebrated them.”
In videos shared on social media, however, Abu al-Qumsan was inconsolable, sobbing and wailing at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where he had raced hoping to find his family alive. He said he found them in a freezer.
The death of any infant is a profound event, but babies killed in war can summon extraordinary power, including in a parallel battle for sympathy. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack, Israeli officials stoked global outrage at the deaths of 1,200 on Oct. 7 by focusing intently on small children killed at close quarters. The Prime Minister’s office circulated graphic images from blood-spattered nurseries, and erroneous reports of decapitated babies circulated worldwide for months.
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In Gaza, where the death count this week reached 40,000 people, the Health Ministry calculates that women and children account for more than half of the dead. A June AP study found the percentage appears to have declined from the first months of fighting, yet images of Gaza’s youngest victims still summon the strongest response—and the circumstances of their deaths sketch relatable details of family life when homes were still standing. Couples who had struggled to conceive now mourn the “miracle child” produced by IVF. Doctors seeking hope delivered a newborn girl by cesarean from a pregnant woman killed in an airstrike, only to see her, days later, also die. An English teacher, after the death of her brother and his two young sons, wrote of relief at her own miscarriage.
With Gaza’s health care system largely reduced to rubble, pregnant women and infants are the most vulnerable. (In an Associated Press interview, Abu al-Qumsan said his wife, who was a pharmacist, was temporarily unable to walk due to her c-section.) Babies in Gaza are malnourished, the U.N. reports, and many are too weak to cry. A shortage of ventilators and incubators makes infant care even more difficult. In a Gaza population of 2 million people, an estimated 50,000 women are pregnant, and many are forced to give birth without anesthesia, painkillers, check-up appointments or hygiene materials. According to a March report, only two hospitals still offer maternity care, leaving many women to give birth in cars, tents or, in some cases, “amid the rubble.”
As pregnant and breastfeeding women struggle to provide for their children, the stage is set for long-term disaster. “We have reached a stage where we have to choose which babies will live,” Dr. Ahmed Al-Shaer, pediatric specialist at the Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital said in a U.N. interview.
Abu al-Qumsan’s story is one that has been shared widely online, and inspired an outpouring of support. The Sameer Project, a donations-based aid initiative, helped provide a tent after the Qastal Tower building, where he and his family were staying, was partially destroyed. “He’s not in the greatest state of mind,” Hala Sabbah, co-founder of the Sameer Project, said.
The arrival of the twins had been announced by their mother on Facebook. The post is now flooded with hundreds of condolences. “There are some pure people out there,” Abu al-Qumsan said, according to Sabbah. “My feelings are all over the place.”