Gaza Herald—Ten-year-old Tala Abu Ajwa dreamed of returning to her favorite school, becoming a skilled dentist when she grew up, celebrating her siblings’ birthdays, and giving them gifts to help them forget, as Tala herself said, the war.
Her father, Hussam Abu Ajwa, describes her as cheerful, ambitious, energetic, academically excellent, and fond of playing with her friends in front of their home in Gaza City.
Her dreams were bright, her wishes innocent and full of love and hope, but in a single moment, the Israeli occupation took everything from her when a fragment of an Israeli missile struck her small neck while targeting a nearby apartment.
On September 3, 2024, an image of Tala wearing her pink roller skates circulated widely. The photograph was both touching and heartbreaking, spreading beyond Gaza to the entire world. The pink skates, with white straps and pink wheels, were visible beneath the white cloth covering her body on a hospital bed.
Her father recalls: “Tala begged me to let her go out and play with her friends. She said, ‘Please, Dad, let me go out.’”
He added: “After insisting so much, I allowed her to go out because I felt sad for her; she wanted to play with the neighborhood girls.”
He continues: “When my daughter went down the stairs, I heard the shelling. I ran down quickly to check on her, but amid the dust, all I could see were her feet in her pink shoes.”
Describing the tragic moment, he said: “I carried Tala, covered in blood, to Al-Ma’madani Hospital to try to save her life.”
Her father could not save her because the Israeli shelling had already struck her, leaving the family devastated and heartbroken.
Tala passed away at the age of ten, leaving painful memories for her family, who still look at her room full of toys.
Her grieving mother recalls her daughter saying, “Why don’t we live like other children in the world? I wish we could live a peaceful life. We don’t want wars, Mom. I’m tired of wars.”
She added: “She was one of the best students, very smart and excellent. She would tell me, ‘I wish I could go to the park and play.’ But she died, and with her, her dreams died too.”
Since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, 21,283 children (about 30% of casualties) have been killed, and approximately 44,486 have been injured, including 10,500 children who suffered permanent disabilities.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated that children “are paying the highest price in Gaza, amid displacement and fear of losing their childhood.”
Thousands of children live in displacement tents without basic necessities, spending their time securing water and food instead of studying, while around 700,000 students have been denied education for the third consecutive year due to the destruction or damage of roughly 90% of schools in the Gaza Strip.
