Gaza Herald – In Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, the Abu Saif family was trying to give their twin daughters, Saba and Sana, both four years old, an ordinary night’s sleep amid the constant noise of war. In a single moment, however, everything turned into rubble and loss.
The Strike
Moments before the tragedy, the twins were preparing for bed like any children their age. They put on their small pajamas and climbed into a bed that seemed perfectly ordinary, though it would be their last.
At around 1:00 a.m., a powerful explosion struck the family home directly, without warning. There was no time to flee or even cry out. The ceiling collapsed onto the family, the walls crumbled, and the home was engulfed in dust and silence.
Within seconds, the voices of the two girls disappeared beneath the rubble as their home was reduced to a pile of debris.
A Race Against Time
Civil defense crews, ambulances, and local residents rushed to the scene in an attempt to rescue those trapped beneath the wreckage. The injured were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, where an atmosphere of shock prevailed before the twins were declared dead and their parents were confirmed injured.
A Farewell at the Hospital
In the early morning hours, relatives gathered at the hospital. Saba and Sana lay side by side, dressed in the same clothes their mother had chosen for them before bedtime, as if they were still asleep.
During the farewell, their peaceful expressions only deepened the grief. It seemed as though they were still dreaming, even though that dream had ended beneath the rubble.
Testimonies from the Heart of the Tragedy
One of the family’s relatives, who was present during the strike, recalled the final moments.
“I heard Saba say in a broken voice, ‘Help me, Dad .. there’s a pillar on me,’ and then everything went silent.”
She added bitterly, “Our home contained no weapons and no fighters. There were only sleeping children. What crime did they commit to deserve this?”
A Name That Became a Symbol
The story of Saba and Sana quickly spread across social media, where users shared their photographs and farewell videos. Many said the twins were “not just two names in a breaking news report, but two dreams cut short before they had the chance to grow.”
One social media user wrote: “They were born together .. and they left together. Four years of innocence ended beneath the rubble.”
A Heavy Toll
According to figures released by Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the Israeli genocide that has continued since October 7, 2023, has claimed the lives of more than 16,000 children, a devastating toll that spans every stage of childhood and reflects the scale of the humanitarian tragedy.
