Saja Ismail al-Madhoun

Her cousin wrote to us: "Saja was a girl of 16 who had not yet seen anything of life. She still had dreams and ambitions she wanted to reach: she wanted to study and to travel abroad. She was killed together with her mother, her father, and her two sisters. Only her older sister remained, and her brother who was living abroad and had been taken out of Gaza because they feared for his life. Saja was everyone's friend. In her whole life she never upset anyone. She loved to talk with everyone and to laugh with everyone, and we loved her laugh that made us laugh along with her. She used to come around to us in the camp, sit down, and tell us her jokes. Whenever she was with me, she would say: 'Could it really be that we get martyred at the very end of the war?' And indeed, my dear, you were killed and you attained al-shahada [martyrdom], because you deserved it. Thank God we buried you and now you are at rest, my dear. You will remain in our prayers and we will never forget you. May God make our reunion in paradise."