A Palestinian woman collects belongings at a damaged tent camp sheltering displaced people in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a nearby house whose residents were warned to evacuate before the attack, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 7, 2026. (Credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
“The day my husband was martyred was the hardest day of my life,” Islam Juha, a 22-year-old mother of two daughters, told me. Her husband was killed in 2024 while trying to bring home a bag of flour for his family. He left, hoping to feed his daughters, but never returned. “I would rather they took all my organs than tell me my husband was killed,” said Islam.
But the loss of her husband was not the end of her suffering.
Since then, she has been carrying a weight that no young woman should have to bear. While she herself needs support, she has been forced to become everything for everyone around her, raising her daughters alone while trying to hold together what remains of her family.
Today, Islam lives with her parents and two daughters in a single tent. They cannot afford another shelter, forcing the entire family to share the same cramped space.
And as if that was not enough, one of her daughters was severely burned when a nearby attack set fire to their tent. The burns left lasting scars on her small body, and she has undergone 15 surgeries in an attempt to recover. Two of those surgeries were unsuccessful, and her treatment journey is far from over.
As her daughter fights to heal, Islam faces her own physical challenges. Several fingers on her right hand were amputated, making even the simplest daily tasks exhausting. Washing clothes, preparing meals, and caring for her family have become difficult responsibilities. She still needs physical therapy to regain movement in her hand, but like many in Gaza, access to treatment remains limited.
Yet perhaps the heaviest burden she carries is not the physical hardship, but the responsibility that comes with being the only one left.
All of Islam’s siblings have been killed. She is now the only child her parents have left, the only person they can lean on after losing their sons and daughters.
At just 22, Islam finds herself bearing the roles of a mother, a father, and a daughter all at once. And she is one of many of Gaza’s women who are forced to carry burdens far heavier than their age or what they can truly bear because of the genocide. While many have lost their homes and now struggle through life in worn-out tents, others have lost the people who once made those hardships bearable.
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