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Remembering Mamoun, Killed By An Israeli Missile As He Played
Football
By Rami Almeghari
24 June, 2012
The Electronic Intifada
(Ashraf Amra / APA images)
Muhammed al-Dam grieves over the body of his son, Mamoun,
who was killed on Wednesday from an Israeli airstrike.
Gaza City: “I can never forget his image with blood all over his
little body and both his legs badly injured,” Umm Mamoun Hassouna told
The Electronic Intifada as she sat at a relative’s house in Gaza City.
“I am a preacher [for women] at a local mosque and used to preach
against harming innocent Israeli children, women or the elderly, and
even cutting down a tree,” she said.
“After I have seen my son killed by an Israeli warplane in front
of my eyes, I wonder what my only son did against Israel [for them to]
kill him,” Umm Mamoun added.
Thirteen-year-old Mamoun Zuhdi al-Dam was killed on Wednesday, 20
June, during an Israeli attack on Gaza amid exchange of fire between
the Israeli army and Palestinian resistance factions that left eight
Palestinians dead.
At approximately 3pm, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at
members of a Palestinian family who were having a picnic behind the
campus of the University College of Applied Sciences in the southern
Gaza City neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa. As a result, Mamoun al-Dam was
killed.
His blind father, Muhammad Zuhdi al-Dam, 67, was wounded by
shrapnel to the head and the neck. Three other children who were in a
nearby field were also wounded, according to theweekly report from the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
He made tea for his parents
“One month ago, I inherited a small piece of land — about 220
square meters — from my family, and we were all so happy to own that
land as my husband is an elderly retired man,” Umm Mamoun said. “Since
we inherited that land, Mamoun used to go to it often to enjoy some
time outdoors.”
On the day he was killed, his mother said, Mamoun went to the
piece of land in the Zaytoun neighborhood, just near the Ali Bin Abi
Talib mosque, at about 9am. “I received a phone call from him later on
to inform me that the situation was tense and that Israeli warplanes
were buzzing overhead,” she said. “His father and I were scared for
him and we went to join him.”
Mamoun, his mother said, used to read the Quran, and he led noon
prayers that day on the family’s plot of land. The boy also prepared
some tea for his parents, and then laid down to listen to news on his
mobile phone.
“As he was listening to the newscast that moment, he told us that
an Israeli warplane had fired a missile somewhere else,” she added.
Killed as he played football
“Then, Mamoun went to play with a football just close to us on the
same land,” his mother recalled, surrounded by mourners. “Suddenly, we
heard a loud explosion and pillars of smoke covered the place. I heard
Mamoun screaming and saw him stained with blood, and his legs were
badly injured. By then my relatives, who are our neighbors, came over
to help us as his father was slightly injured too.”
“Mamoun was everything for me — a son, a brother, a sister and
everything in my life,” his grief-stricken mother said, “I am the
second wife of his father, and God had given me Mamoun to fill in my
life.”
In tears, Umm Mamoun spoke of how her son would tell her, “I love
you so much, mom. You are my dearest, I love you, I love you.”
“He used to fill my moments with joy”
Muhammad, Mamoun’s father and a retired trader, sat at a
condolence ceremony in the Asqoula neighborhood of Gaza City, with his
left hand bandaged due to his injuries from the same missile strike
that killed his son.
As relatives and friends came to offer condolences, al-Dam
lamented, “I do not know what to say, except may God take revenge on
those who killed my son Mamoun.”
Al-Dam explained that his son used to look after him due to his
lack of sight. “Mamoun, may he rest in peace, used to be very
reliable, though he was only a child. He used to take me to the mosque
for prayer, he used to bring whatever I need from nearby grocery
stores, he used to fill my moments with joy.”
No resistance, no shooting
Al-Dam told The Electronic Intifada that the moment his son Mamoun
was hit by the Israeli missile, there was no sign of Palestinian
shooting or rocket fire in the area.
“The area where our new piece of land is located is far away from
the Israeli border line and it is populated as well,” he said.
Mamoun’s maternal aunts on his mother’s side, Umm Mahmoud and Umm
Ahmad Hassouna, recalled how cheerful, humorous and polite Mamoun was.
“One day I was very sad and visited my sister Umm Mamoun to feel
better. Mamoun came over to me and said, aunty, I will tell you 15
jokes so that you will smile,” Umm Ahmad said as a little smile broke
the grief on her face.
Mamoun’s niece, seven-year-old Abeer Zuhdi al-Dam, wanted to share
her feelings too.
“We used to play together often. Sometimes he used to show me some
pictures on his own computer, and we used to play many games including
hide and seek. We hate Israel for killing him, we hate Israel for
killing him,” she said.
“Like my son”
Mamoun’s elder brother, Zuhdi al-Dam, 42, received condolences
alongside his father. “This is something that our faith obliges us to
tolerate and take for granted, but the question is, why does Israel
target such little children? Why?” Zuhdi al-Dam said. “Mamoun was like
my son as the age difference between us is thirty years.”
“Why do those alleged world leaders assemble at the so-called
United Nations Security Council? Rather, it is the No-Security
Council,” Mamoun’s father remarked.
“When an Israeli is hurt, those alleged leaders rush to condemn or
call for action, while our own children are being killed and no one
even moves.”
Rami Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in
the Gaza Strip.