Ward Jalal al-Sheikh Khalil was sleeping in a Gaza City school-turned-shelter when she woke up to the sound of Israeli strikes.
The young Palestinian girl managed to escape alive, only after witnessing her mother and four siblings burn to death.
Iyad’s brother and his family had been sleeping on thin mattresses they had carried through repeated displacements when the strike hit their classroom.
The biggest problem is not only that her entire family was killed, but that she is fully aware of what happened.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified Ward Jalal al-Sheikh Khalil as the girl in a widely shared video of the school fire.
Ward Jalal al-Sheikh Khalil woke up to the sound of Israeli strikes while she was asleep in a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City.
During the assault on the Fahmi al-Jerjawi school, a classroom was struck and burned along with nearby tents.
Only after seeing her mother and four siblings burned to death did the young Palestinian girl escape unharmed.
Iyad Muhammed al-Sheikh Khalil, her uncle, told Middle East Eye, “I got a call after midnight informing me that the school where my brother and his family had sought refuge was bombed.”.
“I was in a state of horror and wanted to go right away, but I was unable to do so. The darkness was total, and the bombing was still very strong. “.
To get to the location, he waited until dawn.
He described the scene as “horrible.”. There was still smoke coming from the classrooms. Everywhere you looked was the smell of blood. Humans were totally burned. “.
At least three bombs dropped by Israeli warplanes on the school at around one in the morning killed over thirty-five people, including at least eighteen children and six women, according to survivors and witnesses.
When the strike struck, Iyad’s brother and his family were sleeping on flimsy mattresses they had brought with them from several moves.
“There were no mattresses left, only body parts and flesh scattered everywhere,” Iyad stated.
“The most significant issue is not only that she is fully aware of what happened, but also that her entire family was killed.”.
The uncle of the girl, Iyad Muhammed al-Sheikh Khalil.
“We began looking for the bodies, but they were ripped apart, so we began looking for body parts instead,” he explained.
“We discovered pieces such as arms and legs. “.”.
Later, the 53-year-old man was told that Ward, his youngest niece, and his brother had been moved to the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City’s east.
“I found Ward and her 16-year-old brother, Seraj, both injured when I rushed to the hospital,” he said.
“Ward knew exactly what had occurred. She informed me right away which members of her family had been slain. “.”.
Her mother and five siblings—Abd al-Rahman, 17, Muhammad, 14, Maria, 13, and Silwan, 11—had all passed away as Ward had seen. The intensive care unit is still where her father is.
“She told me that she witnessed their deaths from burns and was powerless to stop it. She attempted to flee the fire before some men came and rescued her,” Iyad added.
Ward was the one who recognized her brother’s and mother’s bodies when they were taken to the hospital. Their bodies were charred and deformed, making it impossible for us to identify them. “..”.
attempting to “guess” who the victims were.
Based on minor details, such as “a piece of clothing or the shape of a hand or fingers,” Iyad attempted to “guess” the identities of some of the bodies at the hospital. “..”.
He took Ward out of the hospital after leaving his brother in the intensive care unit because she had only minor injuries.
“She started crying as soon as she saw her sister’s slippers at the school. The most significant issue is not only that she is fully aware of what happened, but also that her entire family was killed. Iyad informed MEE.
Ward lost his oldest uncle to murder last month. Her father is still in critical condition, and her mother has now been murdered. The only people left for her are her 16-year-old brother and me. “.
Civil defense crews have been forced to prioritize rescuing people who are thought to still be alive beneath the rubble due to the increased bombardment that has been occurring throughout the Gaza Strip in recent days.
Families frequently have to handle the recovery of the missing’s bodies on their own.
Iyad went on, “I have now gone back to the school to search for the remaining individuals and their body parts, but we were unable to locate anything.”.
We can’t even give them a respectable funeral. “.”.
The majority of the approximately 10,000 people who have been reported missing since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023 are thought to be dead beneath the debris, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.
How he can “delete the scene” from his niece’s memory, however, is now Iyad’s main concern.
She is inconsolable. There are no words to describe her predicament. I’m not sure if she will ever get better or how,” he said.
She didn’t simply make it through a bombing. She lost more than just her whole family. She had to flee for her life after seeing them burned to death, abandoning them in the process. “.”.
Editor’s note: Ward Jalal al-Sheikh Khalil was incorrectly identified as the girl in a widely circulated video of the school fire in an earlier version of this article. She isn’t the girl in the video, but she was at the school when it was attacked.
