Zainah Belal Sabri Abu Taquiah

Location Gaza

One-year-old Zainah was from the Al Nafaq area in Gaza City. “[She] left us so many good memories. She was the first child for me and my family,” said her father. She was an energetic and beloved girl. She started walking at the age of ten months. She loved her grandfather. She never got scared from the sound of the bombing. “She used to wake me up to play,” said her father. 

During a ceasefire period in the war, Zainah was playing on the swing in the yard, many children were playing around her, and her father was irrigating plants, a huge explosion occurred. The yard was filled with dust. Zainah’s father tried to gather the children and he heard his mother screaming, “Zainah”. He tried to pick her up, and to his surprise, he found her without her head.

“The situation was indescribable…the children were screaming. It’s really painful to lose your daughter who used to share so many things and memories with you,” her father added.

Three young men arrived to help the family. Later that night, all three were killed by a new round of shelling.