In Gaza, the long road to recovery for one woman who lost an eye, and daughter | Israel-Palestine War News

Nuseirat, Gaza Strip When Najwa Abu Atiwi opened his eyes on October 11, 2024, after several weeks in a coma, his first thought was not the extent of his injuries, but the need to see himself. He knew something had changed, but he didn’t understand how his appearance had changed after an Israeli airstrike hit his home in the central Gaza camp of Nuseirat.

Najwa, who is now 42, repeatedly asked to see her face, but she put it off for fear of being disappointed.

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“I kept asking to see how I looked, but they gave me painkillers and drugs to calm down,” says Najwa.

Later, the doctors told him the truth: One of his eyes was out, and they were still trying to save the other one, which only had a problem with blood inside.

When he finally looked in the mirror for the first time, it was as if someone was looking back. His face, marked by severe injuries and fractures, had changed dramatically.

“I looked at myself and I didn’t know who I was, I felt like I was looking at someone else, and I said: ‘Who is this?'” he remembers.

The pain only intensified later, when Najwa learned that her daughter, Hajar, had also been killed in a plane crash that put Najwa in the hospital. Hajar was just days away from celebrating her sixth birthday.

But for one month after waking up from coma, Najwa did not know about this tragic death. During her time in the intensive care unit, she dreamed of Hajar and repeatedly asked those around her to reassure her that her daughter was safe. Later he learned the sad truth, since he never had the chance to see his daughter for the last time or to say goodbye, the death still lingers with the physical pain of his injuries.

Najwa has faced a long process of surgeries, treatment, and recovery. Metals and meshes were placed over his face, and he continues to struggle to open his jaws, speak, and eat.

“I still can’t eat properly. My diet is limited to soup, water, juices, and milk,” says Najwa. He is still waiting for access to special treatment after doctors told him that some of the procedures he needs are not available inside Gaza – because of years of Israeli occupation. to block and destruction done Israel’s war of destruction in Gazawhich has killed more than 73,000 people.

Serious injuries

Dr Ayman Saidam, consultant in oculoplastic surgery, says Najwa’s case is one of the most complex injuries he has treated, involving severe injuries to the eye, face, and jaw.

When she first arrived for treatment, Najwa suffered an injury to her right eye that left her disfigured, including facial bone fractures and eyelid lacerations. His other eye was also injured in the socket, which prevented him from closing his eyelid, creating an additional risk to his vision.

Saidam explains that the treatment of such injuries cannot begin with cosmetic procedures alone, because the main problem is damage to the face.

“Cosmetic eye surgery in cases like this should be built first on maxillofacial reconstruction (restoration of the face, jaw, neck, and mouth), because cosmetic procedures alone cannot correct structural deformities,” he says.

During the Israeli war, Saidam treated many injuries caused by punctures and blasts, including orbital fractures (broken bones around the eye), eyelid tears, loss of facial muscles, and injuries that resulted in loss of vision or complex reconstructive surgeries.

He explains that some patients need several rounds of treatment before receiving an artificial eye or restoring part of their former appearance. Facial rejuvenation is not a single process, but a series of events in which each stage depends on the success of the previous one.

“In Gaza, there are skilled doctors who have the necessary knowledge and experience, but the main problem is lack of resourcesmaterials, and medicine,” says Saidam.

He explains that shortages of some surgical supplies, including bandages and eye drops, can delay treatment and slow recovery. Much of this shortfall is due to Israel’s restrictions on access to Gaza, which have continued despite the “end of October” that Israel regularly violates.

For Najwa, the medical journey continues. He has received medical treatment abroad but continues to wait for permission to leave Gaza, living daily with pain, difficulty walking, and difficulty accessing hospitals.

His story is not unusual. Israel’s war has left thousands of people in Gaza with serious injuries that require long-term care and rehabilitation.

According to the World Health Organization, about a quarter of the injuries recorded in Gaza are considered life-changing. More than 50,000 injuries require long-term rehabilitation services. It includes loss of limbs, heatstroke, and other hazards caused by bombs and explosions.

Psychological wounds of war

Najwa is not the only patient who needs psychological help after an injury. Many people who have suffered facial injuries from a bomb blast, including severe burns, facial fractures, loss of an eye, or metal injuries, experience psychological problems that can be as painful as their physical wounds.

Dr Hassan Abu Shawish, a psychiatrist at the Deir el-Balah Mental Health Hospital who helped Najwa, says that her case was among the most difficult because several traumatic events happened at the same time: her injuries, the death of her daughter, and the drastic change in her face.

He explains that such injuries can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, depression, and physical disturbances, in which patients struggle to accept their new appearance. This can cause some survivors to withdraw or avoid socializing.

He says mental health care is an important part of recovery along with reconstructive surgery, helping patients adjust to physical changes, rebuild their confidence, and return to society.

Beyond survival

Before his injury, Najwa lived a very different life. He worked, went abroad, and was surrounded by family and friends. Now she is trying to rebuild her life while dealing with the pain of losing her daughter and dealing with drastic changes to her face and body.

The loss of Hajar is one of the deepest wounds that Najwa carries. She explains that her daughter was happy, intelligent, and hardworking, and that she resembled her mother, which makes her absence all the more painful.

Najwa says she always sees Hajar in her dreams. He said: “I see that my son is on a journey and he will come back. Every day I say: When will he come back?”

Najwa is trying to put aside the pain of his death. Her journey since the attack has been a long one – reclaiming what is still in her life: her face, her ability to speak and eat, her confidence, and her connection to the world around her.

While he is waiting for the opportunity to go and finish his medication, he still hopes that one day he will get back some of what the war took from him.

He said: “I want to go back to my old life to regain the beautiful personality I used to know.”