Pilu Palestinian Boy Burns Face Stuck In Israeli Attack At Refugee Camp

ILLUSTRATION/ UN News/Ziad Taleb

JAKARTA - The burns on Hanan Akel's 10-year-old face show how Israel's military operations in Gaza not only caused thousands of deaths but also severe injuries to parents and children.

Hanan lay in a hospital bed in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, had difficulty moving his mouth while speaking and with his eyes partially closed, his forehead was still injured and a seam wound on his nose and lips.

When Walaa Akel's mother tries to clean her, she laments.

Israel has been at war in Gaza for more than eight months and says it wants to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group that attacked the Israeli community on October 7th.

Land and airstrikes in Gaza killed more than 37,396 people and injured 85,523 people according to Palestinian health authorities, and left nearly the entire population in the small area of their homes with massive bombings.

Hanan was walking in the refugee camp al-Bureij where his family took refuge after leaving their homes when he was caught in an Israeli attack, his mother, Walaa, said.

Instead of spending Eid al-Adha playing with his friends, he spent his time at Syahid Al-Aqsa Hospital to be treated for second and third level burns on his face and limbs.

"I used to go with friends. Play, buy goods, eat, and celebrate Eid al-Fitr. We were happy. We used to play swing and used to wear Eid clothes. We used to wear good new shoes," he said.

Now he hopes to get treatment and cure his face.

"I want to go back to how it used to be," he said.

Since Israel expanded its attacks last month to include the southern city of Rafah, where the border posts to Egypt are located, the border has been closed and Gazans cannot go abroad for medical assistance.

Doctor Mahmoud Mahani, the plastic surgeon who treated Hanan at the hospital, said he needed immediate treatment somewhere with more sophisticated equipment.