Gaza cousins face lost youth, and family tragedy, after amputations

Abdullah Nattat was once an energetic young man working as a singer and a performer, hosting wedding celebrations and entertaining children.

The 30-year-old now sits in a wheelchair, both of his legs amputated.
“At this time every year, I would usually be busy performing at Christmas and New Year’s celebrations held by Gaza’s hotels and restaurants before the war,” Abdullah told Al Jazeera with a sad smile.

In September, as an Israeli military ground operation began in northern Gaza, Abdullah was displaced from Beit Lahiya in the north to an apartment belonging to relatives in central Gaza City.

There, as he walked among a group of pedestrians near the as-Saraya Junction, an air strike hit.

Abdullah survived, but his injuries would be life-changing.

“I was returning from the market with a friend and had bought a few things for the house,” said Abdullah, who is married and the father of a four-year-old child.

“Suddenly, there was a huge explosion. I didn’t wake up until I found myself lying on the ground, surrounded by black smoke. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t. I looked at my legs, one had been completely severed at the knee, and the other was badly torn apart,” he recalled.

“I couldn’t comprehend what had happened. I looked beside me and found my friend lying there, torn apart, his legs injured just like mine. We were both soaked in our own blood.”
Not alone
After the injury, Abdullah lost consciousness. He later woke up in the hospital to the devastating news that both of his legs had been amputated above the knee. White bandages were wrapped around the wounds.
“That moment was extremely harsh and difficult for me,” Abdullah said. “But what could I do? This is God’s will, and I forced myself to accept it, no matter what.”

“I’m not alone, as you can see. My cousin Diaa, who lives with us, is suffering like I am. We share the same burden.”

Abdullah continued speaking, as he welcomed his cousin Diaa Abu Nahl, 30, his close friend and former colleague with whom he hosted wedding celebrations.

Diaa endured an even more devastating tragedy.

In July, he was injured in a direct Israeli strike on their family home in Beit Lahiya, killing 22 people, including his wife and two daughters: Hala, five, and Sama, three.
Diaa’s right leg was amputated, while the other sustained severe injuries and requires more surgeries to save it.

“The strike happened at about 2:30am. We were all asleep, lying next to each other: my wife, my daughters and I,” Diaa told Al Jazeera.

“I didn’t feel anything. I just woke up in a room filled with black ash and screams all around me. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t. When I looked at my legs, I saw they were torn apart, each in a different direction,” he added.

“I stopped focusing on my legs and started searching for my wife and daughters around me, but I couldn’t see them. Then I lost consciousness due to the severe bleeding.”

At the hospital, Diaa realised he had lost his two daughters and his 26-year-old wife.

“I keep thinking about how they died and I didn’t, even though I was right beside them,” Diaa said. “I completely lost my sense of life after losing them, and my injury has made everything much harder.”

As Diaa recounted his story spontaneously to Al Jazeera, Abdullah’s face filled with deep sadness and compassion for his cousin and friend.

“His story is incredibly painful,” Abdullah said quietly as Diaa struggled to hold back tears. “He lost his leg and he lost the most precious people in his life: his wife and children.”

“In Gaza, when you see someone else’s tragedy, your own pain feels lighter,” he added.
‘Live on wheelchairs’
After two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, a ceasefire was declared in October, although Israel continues to attack periodically, killing hundreds of Palestinians.

Abdullah and Diaa are trying to move on, and currently receive some physiotherapy sessions at a medical centre run by the Gaza Municipality.