Muhammad Tal'at Barhoum

The beautiful child, 10 years old, was killed on November 6, 2023, along with his siblings. These are the details of the tragedy experienced by the bereaved father while at work in the hospital: This is the story of Tal'at Barhoum, the director of reception and public relations at Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, west of Rafah in Gaza, who told Sky News Arabia: "Last night I was working my shift at the hospital. I hadn't known anything about my family and my children for more than two weeks because of the pressure of work, the large number of wounded, and the internet and communications blackouts." While Barhoum was busy registering the wounded and providing journalists with data and statistics, he received terrifying news, in his own words: "I was surprised when one of the journalists who knows me well, and who had a satellite internet connection on his phone, told me that there had been a bombing in the area where my family's house is." Barhoum continued: "I went out immediately to ask my colleagues in the ambulance crews, and they told me that they had transported wounded and martyrs from an Israeli bombing of the 'White Housing' area in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, west of Rafah." He noted that in that area, there was only his family's house and two other houses. "At that point," he added, "I was sure that something had happened to my wife and children." While Barhoum was unable to contact anyone from his family or his area, he was also unable to leave his work because of the harsh conditions facing the hospitals and the health sector in Gaza. Heavy minutes passed like a lifetime. "Then an ambulance arrived with my brother-in-law's wife in it. She was injured and in critical condition, and I couldn't get any information from her about my family," Barhoum said. The anxiety grew, accompanied by an internal refusal to believe the inevitable. "My mind was certain of their fate, but my heart was clinging to the hope that they were alive," as he put it. "Then an ambulance driver told me that they had transported the bodies of a woman and four children to the Emirati Hospital, near the hospital where I work." Barhoum sprinted toward the Emirati Hospital as if his feet were carried by the wind. He arrived there, he affirms, without knowing how or how long it took. "As soon as I entered the Emirati Hospital and saw my wife's niece, who works there, crying, I sat down on the floor, stunned by the shock I had hoped would not come to pass." Barhoum says, "I forced myself to stand up to find out exactly who from my family had died. I saw the bodies of my wife, Maysoun Abu Alwan, and my four children: Ahmad, 8 months old; Layan, 14 years old; Abdel-Rahman, 12 years old; and Muhammad, 10 years old. I am left with only two sons, who are in high school." Barhoum concluded by saying that he transported the bodies of his wife and four children to Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, where he works, because it has a morgue. "I only got half a day off," he noted. "I buried them and returned to my work on Tuesday evening. Despite my tragedy, there is no time for grief, because the work and saving the wounded need me and my colleagues. In the month since the war began, I only saw my family twice." And this is the eulogy from his maternal uncle: I tremble and weep, and I cannot speak or write about you, my dear second sister, Maysoun, and about your children, Layan, Abdel-Rahman, Muhammad, and Ahmad. We lived for two weeks as if we were saying goodbye to each other. I am at a loss for words about what you spoke of, as if you knew the date of your departure and your destiny, my dear sister. You have won your bargain with God, you and your children. And I will remain true to the covenant and promise between us as long as I live. Tal'at Barhoum is a brother to me, and Bara' and Ali are sons to me.