Martyr Date: 05/26/2024- Tel Al Sultan Tent Massacre

I will never forget crying on the phone with friends about the Rafah tent massacre. Hearing our US politicians’ empty promises stating “Rafah is a redline”. Listening to the useless Arab representatives stating “Rafah is a redline”…. Listening to the UN continue condemning Israel for multiple massacres and stating “Rafah is a redline”.

We all watched it unfold right in front of our eyes. Displaced Gazans sleeping in tents, brutally bombarded by the Zionist entity. The loud boom, the blazing fire, the smoke, the people screaming, the people frantically searching the tent sites for their beloved family members’ bodies…. Then the camera panned to a grieving man holding up a small child. It was dark and smoky, so it was hard to see at first. I will never forget the image; it’s burnt in my memory. A small child without a head. Questions began flooding my brain. Was it a boy or a girl? Did the baby have the luxury to have a last meal, or were they brutally murdered while hungry? Did the baby ever learn to walk? Did the baby have siblings? Did the siblings witness the brutality or were they spared? Spared?! Is this the only baby….

The burning questions lead me down the road to make sure our martyrs are remembered properly. Our martyrs are not numbers. They, like all of us, had dreams, stories, memories, friends, family, houses. They all had their favorite songs, favorite foods, favorite places, and they all need to be heard.

The beheaded baby, the beginning of this beautiful initiative. His name was Ahmad Al-Najjar. He was 1 ½ years old. He loved trampolines, bouncy balls and playing with cats.

His father used to call him “booboo” or baby in Arabic because he was the youngest of his siblings. Ahmad used to call potatoes “baba tata” and he used to say “tetels” instead of shekels.

His mother, his sister- Huda, his sister- Arkan, were all martyred that night. They were never able to retrieve his head and he was buried without it. Houda and Ahmad were put in the same body bag. He was wearing black pants and an orange shirt. His left leg was also amputated in the blast.

His brothers, Muhammad (13) & Yamin (8) both saw his body that night. They’re both visibly traumatized & can’t talk about their little brother without bursting into tears.

“Whenever I see the trampoline, & his other stuff, his ball & the other things he played with, I feel sad, & I miss him. I miss all of them. When I miss them, I pray for God to have mercy on them, & to grant them heaven” – his brother Muhammad.

Humanize Gaza, humanize Palestine. We are not numbers.