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.

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Trump: Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is The First of Many’

Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent and a US green card holder, is facing deportation after being arrested by federal immigration officials on March 8.

A leader of student protests at Columbia University, Khalil’s arrest has been described by US President Donald Trump as the “first of many” as his administration ramps up its crackdown on campus opposition to the Gaza war. But a federal judge has temporarily halted the 30-year-old’s expulsion from the US.

As a legal permanent resident, Khalil was detained without a warrant by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials as he and his wife were returning to their Columbia University-owned apartment in upper Manhattan.

The agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked, but after Khalil’s wife provided proof of his green card status, they stated that his green card was also being revoked and took him into custody.

DHS justified Khalil’s arrest by citing his involvement in “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation,” under the framework of Trump’s executive orders aimed at “prohibiting anti-Semitism.” 

“Khalil’s case has been the most publicly known case of an arrest by DHS officials of a pro-Palestine protester from a college campus or a university campus” said Meghnad Bose, a Delacorte Fellow at the Columbia Journalism Review, and one of the journalists who broke the news of the arrest.

A recent graduate from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Khalil was a prominent figure during the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupations.

He acted as a spokesperson and negotiator for demonstrators who condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza and advocated for the institution to sever financial ties with Israel and companies supporting the genocide.

Recently, Khalil was among the pro-Palestinian activists investigated by a new disciplinary body at Columbia University established to address harassment and discrimination complaints. 

Days before his arrest, an online campaign targeting Khalil was launched by pro-Israeli groups and individuals, including Columbia Business School professor Shai Davidai, who called for his arrest and deportation.

These posts tagged U.S. officials such as President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“That is definitely a suspicious turn of events. Was the DHS conducting its own investigation into Khalil prior to all of this? Or were they just acting on cue based on what these pro-Israel groups and individuals posted online?” Bose said.

Initially believed to be in a New Jersey facility, Khalil was confirmed to be at LaSalle Detention Centre in Louisiana on March 10. On the same day, Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled that Khalil cannot be removed from the US without court approval.

The actions against Khalil coincided with the Trump administration’s decision to cancel around $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, citing the “failure to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment.” 

The university’s response to Khalil’s arrest has been criticised for its lack of transparency and action.

The day before the arrest, Khalil emailed Columbia interim president Katrina Armstrong: “Since yesterday, I have been subjected to a vicious, coordinated, and dehumanising doxxing campaign led by Columbia affiliates Shai Davidai and David Lederer who, among others, have labelled me a security threat and called for my deportation.”

He continued, “I have not been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support, and I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm.”

Reports surfaced of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents being spotted on campus throughout the week of the arrest. In response, Columbia University issued a memo over the weekend advising faculty and staff not to interfere in “exigent circumstances” when ICE agents seek access to university buildings or individuals without a warrant.

Khalil’s arrest has sparked a wave of protests on campus, with students, including Jewish ones, rallying in opposition to DHS’s actions, demanding that ICE be removed from university premises. 

“Especially vulnerable are the international students, because many of them feel that if they post on social media now, if they attend a protest, they might end up being deported,” Bose said, raising concerns about the right to protest within university communities.

Khalil’s arrest also seems to be part of a broader political strategy targeting universities. 

“This is happening specifically to someone who is Palestinian and who stood up for the rights of Palestinians in Gaza. So this is not just a cause agnostic free speech issue,” he added.

Donald Trump has frequently targeted Columbia University for its students’ advocacy for Palestinian rights in Gaza, including during his electoral campaign.

“The Gaza Solidarity encampment at Columbia inspired similar encampments not just across the United States, but across the world,” he said.

“It seems rather clear that they [the Trump administration] want to make Columbia [an] example for communities of students and faculty around the country, that even an Ivy League University in New York City will not be spared the wrath of the American government for having protested against the policies of the American government as it relates to Israel.”

This report is written by Francesca Maria Lorenzini for the Jordan Times

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Bahrain Revives Its Pearling Legacy

Bahrain, with its shallow waters and rich oyster beds, has long been synonymous with pearls, which formed the backbone of the island nation’s economy for thousands of years. Diving for pearls, otherwise known as pearling, remains part of the country’s cultural DNA.

“I always say that all Bahrainis have pearl diving in their blood,” Mohamed Alslaise, a pearl diver and field researcher for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) tells UN News. “Almost all the families that moved from the Arabian Gulf or Iranian coast to Bahrain were divers.”

Mr. Alslaise is passionate about preserving and reviving this age-old tradition, notes that many families in the Gulf nation have a member who was either a pearl diver or contributed in some way to the pearl diving industry.

Pearling in the Persian Gulf shaped Bahrain’s economy for thousands of years but, following a peak around the turn of the 20th century, the perfection of cultured pearls by Japan in the 1930s caused a sharp and devastating decline in the industry.

Khaled Salman, a diver since the 1970s, explains that while diving continues, it’s no longer done in the old way.

Bahraini diver, Mohamed Alslaise extracting pearls from oysters.

UN Video/Hisae Kawamori

Bahraini diver, Mohamed Alslaise extracting pearls from oysters.

“Nowadays, larger quantities are extracted due to advancements in technology, allowing divers to stay underwater for longer periods. In the past, a diver would stay underwater for four minutes, but now scuba divers can remain underwater for an hour or more.”

Due to lower pearl prices, Salman notes, “Many people don’t sell the pearls they extract; they store them until prices rise and then sell them to traders in Bahrain.”

Some pearls are used in local industries, while others are marketed outside Bahrain. He also highlights three types of pearls: synthetic, cultured, and natural, adding that “distinguishing between these types requires experience and modern equipment.”

The decline in pearling also affected Bahrain’s shipbuilding industry. Abdulla, a designer of wooden ships and boats for over 35 years, shares his perspective: “Bahrain is famous for its shipbuilding industry, which was integral to pearling. There are several types of ships, varying by design, but now smaller ships are used for pearling due to decreased demand.”

The wood for shipbuilding is imported from Africa and Singapore, and, says Abdulla, the lifespan of a ship can extends beyond 100 years.

Abdulla, a designer of wooden ships and boats for over 35 years.

UN Video/Hisae Kawamori

Abdulla, a designer of wooden ships and boats for over 35 years.

Folklore, songs and tradition

“Most Bahraini traditions are connected to the pearl diving industry. For instance, the pearl diving songs,” says Mr. Alslaise. “The folklore of pearl diving has been passed down for generations. We still sing the same songs, which were originally sung to boost morale on the boats.”

Bahrain’s historic pearling site, known as the Pearling Pathhas been inscribed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The site testifies to the pearling tradition and the wealth it generated in the Gulf region for millennia.

According to UNESCO, the area consists of 17 buildings in Murharraq city, three offshore oyster beds, part of the seashore and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, from where boats used to set off for the oyster beds.

There are shops, storehouses, a mosque, and the homes of wealthy merchants in the area. According to UNESCO, the location is the only complete example of the pearling cultural tradition and the wealth it produced during the period when the Gulf economy was dominated by trade from the second century until Japan developed cultured pearls.

It also constitutes an outstanding example of traditional utilization of the sea’s resources and human interaction with the environment, which shaped both the economy and cultural identity of the island’s society.

A band performing a pearl diving song in Bahrain. The folklore of pearl diving has been passed down for generations.

UN News/ Abdelmonem Makki

A band performing a pearl diving song in Bahrain. The folklore of pearl diving has been passed down for generations.

Pearling is back 

“I am one of the people who fell in love with pearl diving without any guidance from my parents or family,” Mr. Alslaise. “The generation before us was not allowed to dive when they were young because, after oil was discovered, all the jobs shifted to the oil industry.”

According to Mr. Alslaise, since 2017, when Bahraini authorities introduced pearl diving licenses, many people who signed up had no prior knowledge of pearl diving.

“Now, seven years down the line, many Bahrainis have reconnected with this heritage. Over 1,000 divers are now registered and dive regularly to create an income for themselves.”

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