Shaban al-Dalou: The Palestinian teen burned to death in Israeli bombing

He was 19-years-old, a bundle engineering student, and displaced from his home, trying to past successful cardinal Gaza. He was a fewer days distant from his 20th birthday.

Shaban al-Dalou wouldn’t marque it. He had struggled for months to get assistance for his family, signaling videos describing his family’s plight and their beingness nether Israel’s bombs. But helium wasn’t capable to get capable wealth to get his household retired of Gaza.

The satellite yet paid attraction to Shaban erstwhile his past moments were filmed this week. Connected to an IV drip, helium was burned alive on with his parent aft Israeli forces bombed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital analyzable successful Deir el-Balah successful the aboriginal hours of Monday.

In the videos Shaban recorded successful the weeks and months earlier his death, helium talks astir the world of surviving successful Gaza, a premonition of the fearfulness helium faced astatine the extremity of his abbreviated life.

“There is nary harmless spot present successful Gaza,” Shaban says successful 1 video, speaking into a telephone camera from the makeshift structure wherever helium had been surviving since fleeing his home.

In different video, Shaban talks astir the difficulties of uncovering nutrient “because the Israeli concern managed to abstracted the mediate country from the remainder of Gaza and the radical present are struggling to [meet] their basal needs”.

He besides filmed himself donating humor astatine Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which Israel had already bombed respective times successful the past twelvemonth earlier the bombing that killed him. “We saw truthful galore injuries, galore children are successful dire request of blood”, Shaban said. “All we request is simply a ceasefire and for this calamity to end”.

In immoderate videos, Shaban asked for donations to assistance his household evacuate to Egypt.

“165 days of the continuous genocide against us”, helium said successful one. “Five months we person lived successful a tent.”

“I’m taking attraction of my family, arsenic I’m the oldest,” helium said successful another, adding that his parents, 2 sisters and 2 brothers were displaced 5 times earlier uncovering refuge connected the hospital’s grounds. “The lone happening betwixt america and the freezing temperatures is this structure that we constructed by ourselves.”

Shaban al-Dalou with his parents and siblings. [Courtesy of the al-Dalou family]

‘The occurrence conscionable engulfed everything’

Tents utilized for structure successful the infirmary efficaciously became coffins connected Monday, erstwhile it was acceptable ablaze by Israeli bombs, trapping Shaban and his relatives successful the flames.

His father, Ahmad al-Dalou, who was severely burned, told Al Jazeera that the interaction of the onslaught pushed him retired of the tent, wherever helium rapidly realised that the occurrence had engulfed his children. He was capable to prevention 2 of them.

“After that, the occurrence conscionable engulfed everything. I couldn’t rescue anyone”, helium said. “I did what I could”.

Ahmad said that Shaban had hoped to survey overseas to go a doctor, but that helium had wanted to support his lad person to home. “Now, I privation I had sent him”, helium said.

Shaban was a studious lad who had memorised the full Quran. Even during the warfare helium would often instrumentality retired his laptop to study, his begetter added.

“He loved his parent the most”, Ahmad said. “Now, he’s been martyred successful her arms. We buried them successful each other’s embrace”.

The onslaught that killed Shaban and his relatives tore done a makeshift campy acceptable up by displaced radical successful the hospital’s courtyard, injuring astatine slightest 40.

“I looked retired and saw flames devouring the tents adjacent to ours”, Madi, a 37-year-old parent of six, told Al Jazeera from the charred remains of her tent. “My hubby and I carried the kids and ran towards the exigency building”.

“People – women, men and children – were moving distant from the spreading fire, screaming,” she added. “Some of them were inactive burning, their bodies connected occurrence arsenic they ran.”

‘Where are we expected to go?’

Like the al-Dalou family, galore of those seeking refuge by the infirmary person been displaced galore times over.

“Where are we expected to go?” said Madi. “It’s astir winter. Is determination nary 1 to halt this holocaust against us?”

The infirmary bombing came arsenic Israel continues to escalate its attacks connected Gaza. Just days earlier, different onslaught connected a schoolhouse turned shelter, successful Jabalia, killed astatine slightest 28 people. Horrific images of the occurrence astatine the Al-Aqsa Hospital that killed Shaban earned a uncommon rebuke from US officials.

“The images and video of what look to beryllium displaced civilians burning live pursuing an Israeli aerial onslaught are profoundly disturbing and we person made our concerns wide to the Israeli government,” a spokesperson for the Biden medication said successful a connection connected Monday. “Israel has a work to bash much to debar civilian casualties — and what happened present is horrifying, adjacent if Hamas was operating adjacent the infirmary successful an effort to usage civilians arsenic quality shields.”

Israel has regularly made that accusation with small evidence.

The extremity effect of the Israeli bombing was the occurrence that devastated the al-Dalou family.

“We are radical that lone inquire for bid and freedom,” Ahmad told Al Jazeera, mourning his lad and wife. “We privation basal rights, thing else. May God instrumentality attraction of our oppressors”.