Shaban Al-Dalou: Palestinian Teen Burnt Alive In Tent During Israel Bombing (image- instagram/meetarefugee)
A recent video has drawn global attention, showing a young boy and his mother being burned alive following an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah. The heart-wrenching incident had occurred in the early hours of Monday.
“Hello from the tent where we reside. I’m Shabaan Ahmed, 19 years old, I’m student studying software engineer,” this is how daily vlogs of the youngster open and later give a brief account of their struggles in the besieged strip of Gaza.
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After being displaced from his home, the 19-year-old along with his family was trying to survive in central Gaza and he was just few days away from his 20th birthday, reports Al Jazeera.
Speaking into the phone camera from the makeshift tent, Shaban said, “There is no safe place here in Gaza”. Though his daily videos had described his family’s plight, and their life under Israeli bombs, he wasn’t able to raise enough money to get his family out of Gaza.
Al Dalou’s family had been struggling to meet their basic needs, as the Israeli occupation had separated central Gaza from the rest regions.
“165 days of the continuous genocide against us”, he said in one of the videos. “Five months we have lived in a tent.”
Being the eldest in the family, he took it upon himself to care for his two sisters, and two brothers who were displaced five times before finally seeking refuge on the hospital grounds.
“The only thing between us and the freezing temperatures is this tent that we constructed by ourselves”.
However, their last refuge became a coffin on Monday when the tent was set ablaze by Israeli bombs. The fire burnt them, along with their hopes and dreams.
“He wanted to study abroad to become a doctor, but I wanted to keep him close. Now, I wish I had sent him,” his father, Ahmed al-Dalou who was severely burnt in the airstrike said recalling his good old days.
When the tent fumed to flames, the impact of the strike pushed Ahmed out of the tent. He managed to save two of his children.
Shaban was a studious boy. He had memorized the entire Quran and even during the fierce conditions, the young boy would take out his laptop to study, Ahmed recalled.
“He loved his mother the most”, Ahmad said. “Now, he’s been martyred in her arms. We buried them in each other’s embrace”.
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The attack that had killed Shaban and his relatives had almost injured 40 and killed at least 4. Al Dalou family is just one among many who have been displaced by Israel’s aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
While speaking to Al Jazeera, Ahmed who is mourning his wife and son said, “We are people that only ask for peace and freedom. We want basic rights, nothing else. May God take care of our oppressors”.
