‘Let Him Never be Forgotten’ – Sha’ban Al-Dalou Burned Alive in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Hospital Camp

October 15, 2024

Sha’ban Al-Dalou was burned alive in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah. (Photo: via social media)

By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle  

The images of the burning camp with people trapped in the blaze caused an outcry worldwide, adding to a long list of atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip since last October.

Sha’ban Al-Dalou was 19 years old and a software engineering student at the Al-Azhar University in the Gaza Strip who held the honor of being a hafith (memorizer) of the Qur’an.

Displaced five times since October last year, he lived in a tent along with his parents and four siblings in the courtyard of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in North Gaza.

Until Sunday, October 13, when Israeli warplanes struck, setting alight the tent housing his family and the tents of several other families in the packed camp while they were sleeping.

Injured in Previous Attack

Al-Dalou was receiving treatment for injuries he sustained a week earlier in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque. He was on an IV drip.

It is that image that would haunt the world.

The bombing of the hospital’s courtyard incinerated those housed there alive.

Al-Dalou was among those trapped in the blaze.

His burning silhouette was caught on camera.

Al-Dalou and his mother, Umm Sha’baan, 37, perished in the fire.

At least four people were killed in the airstrike that night, and more than 70 were injured.

The images of the burning camp with people trapped in the blaze caused an outcry worldwide. It adds to a long list of atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip since last October.

‘You are Complicit!’ – Reaction

“His name was Shaaban. He was loved by his family and friends, a memorizer of the Quran. He’s named after the month that in the Islamic tradition is referred to as the forgotten month. Let him never be forgotten,” Dr Omar Suleiman, an American scholar and activist said on X.

An X user commented on the post: “There are many Shaaban in Gaza.”

Rock legend and activist, Roger Waters, also posted on X:

“I’ve just watched the video of the young man burning in the tent…Israel is a disgusting genocidal state beyond anything,” he said.

In a powerful message to football players, the Pink Floyd co-founder said: “If you’re a footballer and you’re playing in the European nations league and you walk out onto a football pitch with anyone from Israel including the whole national team, you are complicit in the murder of the young man burning in his tent!”

To the Palestinian nation, he said: “I’m sorry.”

‘Scared to Speak Out’

Former All-Blacks rugby player, Sonny Bill Williams posted a video of the burning body alongside a video of politicians at the US Congress giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a standing ovation as he gave his speech in July.

“They’re burning people alive but some of you are still scared to speak out,” Williams captioned the images.

Rapper and activist Lowkey said on X: “What did you to stop it?” they will ask, alongside the tragic image of the burning al-Dalou.

“He was 19. He was an engineering student. He loved the guitar. He was taking care of his family. He built their tent in the hospital compound. He burned to death after Israel bombed his tent while they were sleeping,” journalist Ahmed el-Din posted.

US Congresswoman Cori Bush posted on X “There are no words powerful enough to capture the agony of human beings being massacred & burned alive. The U.S. is funding & arming the Israeli military’s extermination of the Palestinian people. It’s unconscionable.”

Calling for an immediate arms embargo, Bush said, “End this genocide.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday said on X: “Today, our screens were once again filled with horrifying reports of children killed, burned, and families emerging from bombed tents in Gaza. These should shock the world to its core.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Nurah Tape is a South Africa-based journalist. She is an editor with The Palestine Chronicle.