Asser and Ayssel, Gazan newborn twins killed by Israel (left) when their father (right) went to collect their birth certificates. (Screenshots from photos circulating on social media)
BEIRUT — Asser and Ayssel, three-day-old twins from Gaza, were killed in an Israeli airstrike along with their mother, Joumana Arafa, and their maternal grandmother. Their father, Mohammad Abu al-Qusman, narrowly escaped death because he was outside the apartment obtaining the twins' birth certificates at the time of the attack on Tuesday afternoon.
Newborn twins in Gaza were killed with their mother and grandmother as their father went to collect birth certificates earlier today.
— Yousef Alhelou (@YousefAlhelou) August 13, 2024
Aysal, a girl, and brother Aser were born over the weekend and were just four days old when father Mohammed Abu al Qumsan left their home in Deir… pic.twitter.com/2xO5cMG8ij
Arafa, a doctor, had announced the birth of her twins on social media on Aug. 10, calling them a "miracle" in her post. She and al-Qusman had married last summer, just months before the outbreak of the war.
Upon returning to Deir al-Balah and discovering the destruction of their apartment, al-Qusman was overwhelmed with grief and collapsed in tears, covering his face with his hands.
"I left to get their birth certificates only to come back and find them dead. My twins, a boy and a girl, were killed," he said before nearly collapsing again. He was consoled by several men who offered words of comfort, saying, "May God give you patience, my love."
In a video circulating on social media, the bereaved father described the tragedy: "We were displaced and living in that apartment with my mother-in-law ... My wife is a doctor ... They are all martyred ... My boy and girl were born on Aug. 10." His voice trembled and his body shook as he spoke.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, 16,500 children have been killed in Gaza, and the total number of casualties since the start of the conflict stands at 39,929.
'17,000 Gazan children are unaccompanied, having lost all their family members'
Al-Qusman is among the many Palestinians who evacuated Gaza City in response to Israeli orders during the early weeks of the conflict.
He had moved his family from northern Gaza to Deir al-Balah, hoping to protect his pregnant wife from the extensive bombings across the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, al-Qusman went to a local government office to collect the birth certificates, only to receive the devastating news of his family's death. He later went to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Central Gaza to retrieve their remains, where he broke down, longing for one final moment with his loved ones.
The newborn twins were buried in the same body bag as their mother after al-Qusman and his family performed their final prayers.
The ongoing bombing campaign by Israel, now in its 11th month, has caused numerous deaths and left many parents mourning their lost children and spouses. The conflict has also resulted in many orphans; local doctors have adopted the term WCNSF, or "wounded child, no surviving family," to describe them.
In February, the UN estimated that approximately 17,000 children in Gaza were unaccompanied with that number believed to have increased since then.
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