Laylah Ziyarah and her baby son, Hani, who lost a leg in a bombing

“… On 22 February 2025, I gave birth to Hani. The joy was immense. I told him he brought us hope because he was born when the war ended. But the joy didn’t last long. Less than a month later, the war started again with even greater brutality. The house next to ours was bombed, and we were rescued from under the rubble, covered in dust. Hani’s face was black from the debris.

“We moved back to my parents’ house. There were eight of us there. On 21 June 2025, the house was bombed while we were inside. At that moment, I was sitting breastfeeding Hani with the kids and my sisters. There was a massive explosion. I heard walls collapsing, stones falling, and glass shattering, and then there was thick smoke and complete darkness. We couldn’t see each other. I heard voices screaming, crying and asking, ‘Is everyone okay? Who’s hurt?’

“I felt for Hani’s head, then his body. When I reached his right leg, it was simply gone. …”

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