The agony of a family over the death of a mother and her children burned alive in a tent in Gaza

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of deaths and injuries.

There is no conscience. There is no humanity. There are only leaders who watch and do not act.

This is what Ahmed al-Dalou believes, as images of his family burning replay in his mind. He says his life is over. He died in the inferno of the Al Aqsa complex along with his children and wife in the early hours of Monday, October 14.

In front of him, on the ground, a shroud wraps the body of 12-year-old Abdulrahman, his youngest son.

The boy lay dying for four days after the fire, caused by an Israeli attack. The day before he died, Ahmed saw him in the hospital and was able to tell his father: “Don’t worry, I’m fine dad… I’m fine. Don’t be afraid.”

Ahmed half talks, half cries, as he recounts what has been taken from him.

“Three times I tried to get him (Abdulrahman) out of the fire, but his body fell back into it.”

His older brother, Sha’aban, 19, and mother, Alaa, 37, died the night of the fire.

Sha’aban became a new symbol of Gaza’s terrible suffering. Images of Sha’aban writhing in pain as he burned to death in the family tent went around the world on social networks.

Ahmed has burns all over his face and hands. The tone of his voice is high, a sharp sound. Of the anonymous pilot who sent the missile and the leaders who gave him orders, Ahmed assures that they “broke his heart and spirit… I wish the fire had burned me.”