Gazan Woman Narrates Ordeal as Israeli Army Dog Attacks Her

Despite the weeks since she was attacked and bitten by an Israeli occupation dog, Umm Hassan continues to suffer from the physical and psychological pain of such a harrowing experience.

Umm Hassan has three children and lives in Khan Yunis, and her house was subjected to artillery shelling by the Israeli occupation army, which made it impossible to live in.

She  recalls the details of her tragedy on 24 October, when the Israeli army launched a surprise attack on her residential area in the Al-Manara neighborhood of Khan Yunis.

She said: “Unbelievably and indescribably, we began to hear the sounds of tank tracks and quadcopters surround our homes which were packed with families at the time according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

On that day, the occupation army began shelling these houses with artillery shells and warplanes, including the Al-Farra family’s house next to Umm Hassan’s home, where 13 people were killed, most of them children.

She continued: The occupation bombed the second floor of our house, we were about 20 laying on the ground floor with my children, husband, my brothers and my husband’s family.

We were besieged in the house, and due to the intensity of the continuous artillery shelling, we hid in the bathroom, and remained there till late evening.

But suddenly, the occupation forces brought in a dog equipped with a camera to search the house. It stopped in front of us and headed towards us, and then bit my 17-year-old sister who is married and pregnant.

Soon after that the dog came at me and bit me in the thigh causing deep wounds and severe bleeding. I was already nine months pregnant.

Umm Hassan’s husband tried to shoo the dog away but the animal wouldn’t let go, amid the screams of her terrified young children.

 “Then the dog dragged me 15 meters from the bathroom whilst holding my feet tightly. I felt the flesh come out. My feet started to bleed profusely as the whole family in the house looked on in terror. The dog held my feet tightly for about 10 minutes and no one was able to pull its jaw off…

Soon we heard the sound of many soldiers ascending the stairs of the house whilst three of them came to pull the dog’s jaw out. But they could not do that until the fourth soldier, who was in charge, came and pulled the jaw out forcefully.”

Horrific

Her foot was mutliated. The wound was so deep, going all up to her thigh with an eight-centimeter-gash abd 12 centimeters long, the doctors later told her.

 “The sight was horrific. I felt as if my feet were going to be cut off due to the severity of the wound. It seemed like the dog was chewing on flesh from my thigh. The floor was drenshed in blood. I was screaming in pain, and I felt I might lose my unborn child.

The soldiers occupied the house and took full control, climbing the roof in large numbers whilst shooting randomly in all directions with the artillery shelling continuing non-stop from the moment they stormed in until they left, seven hours later.

Umm Hassan said there was a total siege of the area: “We did not know the fate of the neighboring families, whether they made it alive or killed.

She said the Israeli soldiers isolated the men in a room and put the women and children who were in great distress, shouting and screaming, in another.

I was in pain and bleeding, and I slowly began to lose consciousness. The officer came again and told me if I spoke about what happened to anyone that the soldiers were the ones who released the dog on me, they would come and torture me, and kill my children and my entire family, threatening to get to me wherever I maybe, I thought they were going to kill me.

However at 2:30 am, the occupation forces withdrew from the house. They arrested Umm Hassan’s husband with a young man from the Al-Farra family, and left under artillery shelling that continued incessantly.

The children began to cry and scream again for their father. Their mother did not know anything about her husband until 7 am in the morning when they began to hear the sounds of ambulances. They learned then the army withdrew from the neighborhood, so family went to the Nasser Hospital.

While I was leaving, I was surprised at the large number of martyrs, including children, women and elderly people on the ground, with neighbors pulling out their martyrs, with pproximately 35 dead from the Abu Abdeen, Awida and Al-Farra families.

In hospital, the doctors were shocked by the severity of her wound, says Umm Hassan, and worried about her pregnancy.

After examining me, they told me I had high blood pressure and I was in the stage of preeclampsia due to the severe bleeding and the dog bite. The doctors told me the wound was very deep and needed urgent surgery to save my foot. Initially they were unable to treat the wound properly due to the lack of medicines, disinfectants, gauze and sterilizers and transferred me to the Mubarak Hospital on 28 October, 2024; their the doctors decided to perform an urgent caesarean section.

I entered the operating room at 9 am, and I waited for a doctor until 6:30 pm, the place was in a pitiful state and no suitable bed for delivery and after the caesarean section, I  unfortunately lost the baby.

Three hours later, the doctors told her that she needed an urgent operation for the wound in her foot. Due to the lack of hospital resources, the operation was performed in the same operating room where she gave birth in.

An hour after the operation, Umm Hassan was transferred to intensive care at the Nasser Hospital, where she stayed there for a week. On 4 November, 2024, the occupation released her husband after 10 days, and told them he was taken to the border area with Egypt in Rafah where he was interrogated.

I still suffer from very difficult psychological conditions, and I become hysterical because of the threats I received from the officer and the physical pain I went through. I cannot forget the horror I experienced and my children were exposed to, especially my daughter Sham, who still suffers from extreme fear and involuntary urination due to the psychological trauma she was exposed to. I am still unable to walk or move normally, and I need to change the bandages twice a day so that the wound wouldn’t get infected.

Her husband’s arrest was not his first. On 13 November, 2023, Umm Hassan says the Israeli occupation army arrested him with workers in Qalqilya, and transferred him to Anatot prison, but he was released and returned to them safely after five days through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Before this incident, Umm Hassan suffered from repeated displacement from her home in Khan Yunis to Rafah and back to Mawasi, where they experienced hunger, cold and the heat of tents before returning to their home to find themselves facing new sufferings and a life of hardship.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Related Posts

Israel’s Gaza Bombing Surpasses ISIS Days

The nature of Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip must be denounced, particularly the crimes’ horrifying scope, methodical execution, and wide-ranging effects, which surpass those of armed groups like ISIS. While the crimes committed by ISIS have been widely denounced by the international community, the same community is now mostly silent—and therefore complicit—as Israel pursues a campaign of declared genocide that aims to exterminate the Palestinian people from their homeland.

For almost 18 months, this campaign has been running continuously.

Israeli occupation forces detonated a robot today (Thursday 3 April 2025) rigged with tonnes of explosives in the heart of the densely-populated Shuja’iyya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City. The explosion occurred in an area packed with displaced civilians, though there was no military necessity and no combat activity in the vicinity. This act embodies the conduct of existing terrorist organizations, even surpassing them in brutality and disregard for human life, and bears no resemblance to the conduct of a state bound by international law, regardless of any attempts to distort or evade it.

21 killed

The explosion killed 21 Palestinians and injured around 100 others, the majority of them women and children. A full residential block was obliterated with its residents still inside, and this is not an isolated incident. Over recent months—particularly in the northern Gaza Strip—Israel has increasingly used explosive-laden robots in residential neighbourhoods during its ground incursions. At least 150 such detonations have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, mostly women and children, and caused wide-scale destruction to homes and other essential infrastructure.

A separate atrocity was committed on 23 March, when Israeli forces detained 15 Palestinian rescue workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent and Civil Defence, along with a United Nations staff member, before executing them extrajudicially—some while their hands were bound. Their bodies were dumped into a pit, and the ambulances they had been traveling in were destroyed. This incident is another blatant example of an intentional Israeli crime mirroring—and exceeding—the brutality of groups like ISIS, as it reveals a clear and deliberate intent to annihilate Palestinians both physically and through psychologically terrorizing residents across the Strip.

Euro-Med Monitor field teams have documented thousands of crimes committed by Israeli forces, constituting overwhelming evidence of mass atrocities. These crimes include an unprecedented pattern of violence in recent history, in terms of scale, deliberate targeting, and genocidal intent. A minimum of 58,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of them women and children, and most have been buried beneath the rubble of homes deliberately destroyed over their heads, while many were killed by sniper fire with clear intent. Over 120,000 individuals have been injured, and at least 39,000 children have been orphaned. The Gaza Strip’s infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, and schools, has been virtually obliterated.

Extermination Campaigns

These acts amount to one of the most extensive and systematic campaigns of extermination in contemporary history, underscoring the urgent need for international accountability, an end to Israeli impunity, and concrete action to halt further atrocities.

Israel’s methods in the Gaza Strip—particularly its mass killing of civilians—bear a striking resemblance to the tactics used by groups the international community has widely condemned as terrorist. However, the atrocities unfolding in the Strip are far more dangerous in terms of scale, brutality, and systematic intent, and cannot be understood merely as a function of violent methods or tools. 

What is occurring in the Gaza Strip constitutes a full-scale genocide carried out by a state actor with international legal personality and obligations under international law to protect civilians. Instead, Israel is deploying its military, legal, judicial, and media apparatuses, and benefiting from broad international political protection, to carry out a systematic campaign of destruction against a defenceless population subjected to its settler-colonial and apartheid regime. Palestinians living under this regime are no longer subjected to exclusion, oppression, and intermittent bombardment, as in past years. Rather, Israel is now granted open legitimacy to pursue the extermination of Palestinians in the enclave—unchecked and without accountability.

These actions cannot be dismissed as random or extreme policies, but rather represent a fully-fledged model of organised state terrorism, driven by a comprehensive blueprint for annihilation and implemented in full view of the international community. These crimes are being committed with clear, declared intent to eliminate the Palestinian people as a national and collective entity, uproot those who remain on their land, erase their identity, and ultimately end their collective existence.

The shocking paradox is that these crimes—greater in scope, structure, and severity than those committed by proscribed armed groups—are not met with proportionate condemnation. On the contrary, Israel commits them under the very banner of international legitimacy. While quick to criminalise the actions of non-state terror groups, the international community has extended a false veneer of legality to Israel’s genocide, enabling its prolongation and offering total immunity to the perpetrators.

Ending this double standard is no longer a matter of choice, as it represents a direct assault on the foundations of international law and reveals a racist hypocrisy in the collective protection framework that must be addressed. Treating Israel’s crimes as exceptional and beyond accountability undermines the core principles of the global legal order and entrenches one of the most dangerous forms of impunity.

Stop the Israeli genocide

All states, both individually and collectively, must fulfil their legal obligations and take urgent action to stop Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip in all its forms. This includes implementing concrete measures to protect Palestinian civilians, ensuring Israel’s compliance with international legal norms and the rulings of the International Court of Justice, and guaranteeing full accountability for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It is important to implement the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister at the earliest opportunity and ensurethese individuals’ transfer to international justice.

Furthermore, the international community must impose comprehensive economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel in response to its grave and systematic violations of international law. This includes an arms embargo; the cessation of all political, financial, and military cooperation; asset freezes of implicated officials; travel bans; and the suspension of trade privileges and bilateral agreements that provide Israel with economic benefits, enabling its continued crimes.

Finally, all relevant states and entities must hold complicit governments accountable, foremost among them the United States, along with other nations that provide Israel with direct or indirect support in executing its crimes. Any assistance or engagement in the Israeli military, intelligence, political, legal, or financial sectors, and/or cooperation with Israel’s media, contributes to the continuation of atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

Continue reading
‘In Gaza We Die a 1000 Deaths a Day’

For over a year and five months, the people of Gaza have endured an unrelenting war of extermination—one that has robbed them not only of life’s comforts but of its very essence. Eighteen months of ceaseless suffering, where mere survival has become an act of defiance. The Israeli genocide in Gaza has drained every ounce of their strength—physically, mentally, and emotionally. And for those not granted the mercy of a single, swift death, every moment is a slow, agonizing descent into an unspeakable catastrophe. A never-ending cycle of death inflicted upon them by Israel—where one does not simply perish once, but dies a thousand deaths every day.

Under the relentless barrage of missiles raining down upon us, every passing moment is a gamble with fate. If we escape death today, there is no certainty that it will not claim us tomorrow—for in Israel’s eyes, we are all targets. As if the ceaseless bombardment were not enough, we are also stripped of life’s most basic essentials: food, water, electricity. Existence itself has been reduced to an endless procession of lines—one for a sip of clean water, another for a brief charge of a phone, yet another for a meager ration of humanitarian aid.

But among all these hardships, one of the most crushing has been the loss of cooking gas. With the suffocating blockade and the total closure of border crossings, the last fragile thread connecting us to a semblance of normalcy has been severed. Preparing a meal has become an ordeal, an insurmountable task that drapes every household in Gaza with the weight of exhaustion and despair.

The Cooking Gas Crisis: How It Began

Even before the total closure of Gaza’s crossings during Israel’s war of extermination, access to cooking gas was already scarce, failing to meet the population’s basic needs. Nowhere was this crisis felt more acutely than in the north, where gas barely trickled in—even during the rare moments when Israel allowed limited supplies into the south.

When a brief ceasefire was brokered—only to be swiftly shattered by Israel—residents of northern Gaza were once again left without their share. And the moment the ceasefire ended, the crossings were slammed shut once more, plunging people back into uncertainty, forcing them to navigate survival in the face of the unknown.

Malak Radwan, a resident of northern Gaza, recalls: “The first time we managed to get any cooking gas was after the ceasefire in February, 2025. But it didn’t come from our area—we had to depend on our relatives in the south to share what little they had.”

In southern Gaza, gas distribution operated through a system known as “Gas Lists,” where families were registered in a turn-based queue to receive their cylinders. Even then, the allocated amounts were woefully insufficient to meet the needs of the population. Yet, despite its scarcity and inflated cost, gas was still seen as a rare privilege—one that people clung to with gratitude.

But as the siege tightened and Israel’s total closure of the crossings dragged on, these lists became little more than illusions of hope—long, stagnant lines that might never move. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has prevented the entry of 18,600 aid trucks and 1,550 fuel trucks, including those carrying cooking gas, further exacerbating the suffering of the Palestinian people. Left stranded in uncertainty, families were forced to seek out alternative ways to cook, even as every other resource around them faded into oblivion.

Alternative Cooking Methods Amidst Catastrophe

They say necessity is the mother of invention, but what happens when all means of invention have vanished? Can the resort to primitive methods still be considered innovation in the face of such overwhelming disaster?

In Gaza, residents have been driven to rely on primitive cooking methods—each effort a dangerous gamble that weighs heavily on their bodies, their souls, and their fragile mental state.

Once, gathering around a coal fire to brew tea on a cold winter’s night was a beloved family ritual, a moment unmatched in its warmth. But now, that same fire has been forced upon us as a way of life—one that ignites not only our stoves but also the anguish in our hearts.

Yet, even firewood has become a distant luxury. Its price has soared, driven by the scarcity of trees, forcing some to scavenge shattered wood from the ruins of bombed homes or burn whatever fragments of furniture they have left. Never did we envision a day when we would be compelled to set our own belongings aflame just to prepare a meal.


“My fingers seem to melt with the fire every time I light it,” my mother sighs.

With firewood becoming prohibitively expensive, many have resorted to standing in yet another queue—this time in front of makeshift clay ovens, hoping to cook whatever food they have left. Umm Mohammad, a displaced woman from northern Gaza, has started her own small business: operating a clay oven where she bakes bread and prepares meals in exchange for a few Shekels.
“I began this work to support myself after losing everything during my displacement to the south. At the same time, I wanted to help those who have no means of cooking in their homes or tents,” she says.

For many families, even a few shekels are out of reach. The only remaining option is to rely on community kitchens—yet another queue to stand in, another obstacle in the endless struggle for survival. These kitchens provide just one meal a day, forcing many to subsist on cold canned food for the rest of their meals. Even the single meal was denied to them by the Israeli occupation. According to a report issued by the Government Media Office in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has directly targeted 60 charity kitchens and aid centers in a ruthless campaign aimed at starving the Palestinian people in Gaza. This has resulted in 80% of Gazan citizens losing their source of food.

The impact has been especially harsh on children and the elderly, who desperately need warm, nutritious food to sustain them.

And this is yet another burden we set aside amid the bleakness of our lives. Here in Gaza, the closure of border crossings is not the only barrier worsening the disaster of cooking gas shortages. As Gazans, we do not have the luxury of choosing our daily meals, nor do we have the privilege of enjoying a well-balanced diet. Every day, we are forced to go to the market, only to face the recurring frustration of missing food supplies. We are compelled to prepare meals we do not desire because no alternatives exist, and to eat unbalanced meals because we cannot afford anything better. Here, every moment we endure is a catastrophe in itself.

The Health and Social Consequences of the Gas Shortage

The crisis extends far beyond the inability to cook—it has dire implications for both health and society. Malnutrition has become rampant due to the lack of proper food preparation, leading to widespread cases of general weakness and anemia, especially among children.

Respiratory illnesses have also surged, as people are forced to burn wood and coal inside their homes, inhaling thick smoke with every breath. This has exacerbated the suffering of the sick and elderly.

Amani Al-Ghefari, a resident of northern Gaza, recounts her ordeal: “As someone with nearsightedness who wears corrective glasses, the smoke from burning wood has not only worsened my vision but has also caused a constant burning in my eyes, accompanied by migraines and relentless coughing. The most harrowing consequence, however, has been the physical strain—splitting firewood has taken a severe toll on my joints, leading to months of painful physical therapy.”

But the catastrophe is not limited to physical health—it has deeply scarred the psyche of every Gazan. Food is no longer just a means of sustenance; it has become a haunting memory of life before the genocide. The warmth of family gatherings around a meal has been replaced by a daily struggle for mere survival.
One mother confesses in anguish:
“I can no longer cook a warm meal for my children. I feel helpless, unable to provide for their most basic needs.”

Gaza’s Plea for Its Most Basic Rights

Amidst this suffering, numerous humanitarian organizations have made urgent appeals for aid to enter Gaza. The World Food Programme has expressed concern over the closure of 25 bakeries it supports in Gaza, due to a lack of fuel and flour. Yet, Israel continues its punitive policies, blocking fuel and essential supplies. Human rights advocates persist in calling for the immediate reopening of crossings and the unrestricted flow of aid to all areas of the Strip.

What is happening in Gaza is not merely a humanitarian crisis—it is an orchestrated catastrophe. Life as we knew it has been obliterated, and the suffering has surpassed all conceivable limits. Now more than ever, there is an urgent need for decisive international intervention to save the people of Gaza and to lift the inhumane siege that deprives them of even the most basic right—to cook their own food.

Silence is no longer an option. Every passing moment means more hunger, more pain, more devastation. Supporting Gaza is not just a humanitarian duty—it is a moral imperative that the world can no longer afford to ignore.

Quds News Network

Continue reading

You Missed

Israel Kills Photojournalist No 2011 in Gaza

Israel Kills Photojournalist No 2011 in Gaza

Victory For Palestine

Victory For Palestine

US Senate Votes For Israel Weapons

US Senate Votes For Israel Weapons

Israel Beheads Babies

Israel Beheads Babies