AN Irish-based orthopaedic surgeon who lost his brother in Gaza last year, is again reeling in grief after a bomb attack left his sister in intensive care and killed her four children.
Dr Mahmoud Abumarzouq woke to the news today of the massacre, in which his two-day old grand niece is also fighting for her life in an embattled hospital intensive care unit.
His sister’s husband Osama died last year in a missile attack and he also lost his 29-year-old brother Ahmed Mahmoud when an Israel bomb hit a refugee camp in Rafah.
As he waits for news of his sister Seham’s uncertain fate, Dr Mahmoud is pleading with world leaders to make the carnage stop.
He said: “I had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning and then saw all the missed calls and messages from family members.
“Seham and her children were staying with their in-laws in the south of Rafah because their own home had been destroyed by missile attacks.
“Initially they thought that my sister was dead but I’ve since discovered that she was found alive but very badly injured and is now in intensive care.
“Her husband was killed last year and now her two teenage boys Mohamed and Refat who are 16 and 15-years-old have been taken from her, alongside her daughter Dinna who had just finished a media degree.
“Her eldest daughter Noor, who gave birth just three days ago, is also dead and her baby girl Yaqout is also fighting for her life in intensive care.
“Mohamed, who is still under the rubble, had just finished the equivalent of the Irish Leaving Certificate.
“She has two more children, who are safe and living in Egypt but distraught at losing their siblings.”
The deaths were among over 400 Palestinians who were killed by Israel airstrikes on Monday night, shattering a shaky ceasefire that was in place.
Dr Abumarzouq added: “Her family is all gone. Ten of her in-laws were killed as well last night, all of her in-laws were wiped out. There were no survivors on that side of her family.
“I just talked to my sister yesterday and they were so happy with the new baby.
“They were a little worried about getting baby food but her arrival was a little bit of hope to cling to. Now they are gone and the tiny tot is clinging for her own survival.
“My dad is destroyed. He buried my brother last year and will now be burying the little ones. It is the worst thing he has had to do in his life.”
UNIMAGINABLE Pain
Dr Mahmoud, who is based in Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, expressed his heartache this morning, just hours after learning the horrific news.
He said: “I could breathe a little lighter when the ceasefire was called but now the unimaginable has happened.
“There are no words. Yes, my family and children are safe here thankfully but our souls are in Gaza and my heart has been completely shattered in grief and sorrow today.
“There is no use in words anymore. No-one is helping the Palestinians. They are being massacred.
“What is going on isn’t human but I know my family are in a better place where there is peace now and that’s all I have to hold on to.”
