Update
My name is Taqwa.
I’m the only survivor from beneath the rubble of a six-story building that was destroyed in the bombing of the Engineers’ Tower
Tragically, I lost all six of my children: Sumaya, Suhaib, Juman, Muhammad, Riman, and Ibrahim as well as my parents, my brother, my five sisters, and their children.
I lost my entire family, my home, and everything I once had in a single moment.
I survived, but I am suffering from severe burns, shrapnel wounds, and injuries all over my body.
I also need ear surgery after one of my ears was perforated, causing 70% hearing loss.
My husband is also severely injured one of his legs is amputated, and the other is broken.
He cannot walk without a prosthetic leg, which we urgently need.
Our only blessing now is our newborn son, Sohaib he is all we have left.
We humbly reach out to you with this plea: please help us rebuild our lives, travel for medical treatment, and provide my husband with a prosthetic leg so he can walk again.
We have lost everything, but your kindness and generosity can give us hope, healing, and the strength to live again.
I thank each and every person who has donated from the depths of my heart, and I kindly ask you not to forget us
We truly depend on your compassion and support
Original Story:
Hello, I am Taqwa Khaled Al-Qouqa (Abu Said), the pregnant and injured only survivor of the bombing of my family’s house, where 23 people were killed. All of my six children, the youngest Ibrahim, who was only four months old, along with my mother, father, five sisters, my brother, my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my six nieces and nephews, and my aunt all of them died.
I created this account to ask for help and support after losing everything my children, my family, and my home.
At the beginning of the war, after my house was bombed, and with the army warning us to move south to Gaza Valley, I went with my six children: Somaya (11), Suhaib (10), Juman (8), Mohammed (5), Reem (3), and Ibrahim (4 months old) to my family’s house in Al-Nuseirat, in the Engineer’s Tower.
On October 31, around 2:30 PM, the tower was bombed, killing all six of my children, my mother, father, my six siblings, and their children—23 people in total. I was the only one who survived. I was taken by ambulance to Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, where they had to remove my spleen because of internal bleeding. I had a brain injury and was in a coma for a month. I
also had deep wounds, burns all over my body, and an ear injury where my eardrum was damaged. I am still in pain and have infections, and I need surgery to prevent losing my hearing completely.
these reports explain my health condition and my need for ear surgery:
A month later, when I woke up from my coma, I kept asking, "What happened? Why am I in the hospital? Where are my children? Is baby Ibrahim getting his milk?" Every time I asked to speak to my children or family to make sure they were okay, then they told me the painful truth: everyone who was with me in the house had been killed, and I was the only one who survived.
These are my six kids who were all killed
And I couldn't say goodbye to them because I was in a coma.
While I was in Al-Shifa Hospital, the army entered and forced us to leave. I moved between three schools for displaced people, and each time they were bombed. I’m still in the north, staying in a school for displaced people, where we have nothing to survive.
I am now pregnant and urgently need your help to provide basic necessities for me and my baby. I trust in your kindness, you are my last hope after losing my children, my family, and everything I had.
Please help me and my baby to be safe. Once the crossing opens, we hope to leave Gaza for my treatment and surgery, so I can rebuild a life for myself and my child.
I appeal to your consciences and humanity. Thank you all in advance.
This is a report prepared by NPR covers the massacre at the Engineers Tower, where my six kids and my family members were killed.
Organizer
Taqwa Alqoqa
Organizer
Sint-Niklaas, VLG