Gaza Herald – The lives of 12-year-old Sarah Marzouk and her cousin, 11-year-old Amir Marzouk, have been permanently changed. An Israeli airstrike that hit their family home in Gaza City left both children with severe injuries that ultimately required the amputation of their legs, taking away much of the childhood they once knew.
Inside Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, the two children continue to receive medical care and monitoring after enduring a difficult displacement journey from Al-Shifa Hospital, which had been under an intense Israeli siege.
Caught between physical pain and psychological trauma, Sarah and Amir now live with fear and uncertainty as they cope with life-changing injuries amid a genocide that has continued in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
A Dream Cut Short
For Amir, the amputation was not simply an injury; it marked the abrupt end of a dream he had nurtured for years. He had hoped to become a professional football player, wear the Palestinian national team jersey, and one day compete on international fields.
Amir says those ambitions now feel out of reach after losing his leg. Despite the hardship, he still holds onto one wish: to regain a sense of normal life and recover the childhood that was taken from him.
The Harsh Reality
Lying in a nearby hospital bed, Sarah recalls the moment of the explosion as though it happened yesterday. She describes the experience as something she never imagined she would endure.
“We suddenly found ourselves trapped beneath the rubble after the bombardment,” she says.
With a voice marked by both pain and memory, Sarah continues: “I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t. So I began crawling through the debris, searching for light until I reached the building’s staircase.”
She says that when she looked at her leg and realized it was gone, she screamed for help until her father heard her and managed to rescue her.
Despite the severity of her experience, Sarah says she accepts what happened as part of God’s will and continues to hope for a chance to return to the life she once knew.
The Final Moments Before Disaster
Fighting back tears, Amir recalls the first moments of the attack.
“We were asleep when the three-story building collapsed on top of us after it was struck,” he says.
“My leg was severely injured, and I was rushed to the hospital. There, doctors had to amputate it.”
He concludes with the sorrow of a child whose dream was interrupted: “I just want to be the way I was before. I want my life and my leg back.”
Children Paying the Price
Since October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties, including large numbers of children and women, as well as widespread destruction and severe humanitarian suffering, according to Palestinian and international reports.
Despite international calls for a ceasefire, including resolutions and ongoing legal proceedings before the International Court of Justice, the consequences of the conflict continue to weigh heavily on civilians, especially children like Sarah and Amir, who now face a future shaped by injuries and losses far beyond their years.
