In a heart-wrenching moment that has gripped social media, Mohammed Abu al-Qumsan received the devastating news that his Gaza apartment had been bombed, killing his three-day-old twins, Aser and Aysal, along with their mother, Jumana, just moments after he had collected the babies’ birth certificates.
“I was in the hospital at the time when the house was targeted,” Abu al-Qumsan tearfully recounted. The shock of the news struck as he was informed that his home in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, had been obliterated while his wife, infants, and mother-in-law were inside.
Abu al-Qumsan, who married Jumana in July last year, had endured months of fear and uncertainty as the couple fled from place to place during her pregnancy to escape the relentless bombardment. Despite the dangers, Jumana, a pharmacist, had continued to volunteer at hospitals until her seventh month.
“The same day I obtained their birth certificates, I also had to submit their death certificates,” he shared, folding the unused baby clothes that Jumana had lovingly prepared for their twins.
The Israeli military, when asked about the strike, stated that they were not aware of the details of the incident.
Now, with his home destroyed and his family gone, Abu al-Qumsan is left to mourn, holding onto the last tangible memories of the family he lost—birth certificates, new clothes, and a half-empty pack of nappies. “I want to know why she was killed in this way,” he said, questioning why his family was targeted without warning.