Gazan gymnast who lost legs in Israeli strike hopes to walk again

[Pelican Press 0]

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Gazan gymnast who lost legs in Israeli strike hopes to walk again

STORY: In a displacement tent in Gaza City, 16-year-old ************ Ahmed Al-Ghalban recounts his days as a gymnast, before he lost both of his legs and part of his hand in an Israeli strike.

:: Al-Ghalban Family Handout

“I used to walk, play soccer and play gymnastics, we did all the activities together,” he said, referring to his twin brother Mohammed.

:: Al-Ghalban Family Handout

He said they started gymnastics at age seven and later performed in shows across Gaza.

He said on March 22, his family ran into the street in Beit Lahiya during an evacuation order and was hit by a shell.

Mohammed, his uncle, and his six-year-old cousin were killed, he said.

Al-Ghalban said he hopes to go abroad for treatment and get prosthetics to be able to walk again.

“Before the injury, I was always praying and saying, ‘God, if you want me to get injured, not martyred, don’t let my injury be in my legs’. Because the sports that I do, playing soccer and playing gymnastics – all of this, my legs used to help me. But that’s God’s fate, praise God, my legs have gone to heaven before me.”

Israel effectively ended a January ceasefire agreement with ****** and renewed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18. The Israeli military says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.

The conflict has devastated Gaza, killing more than 53,000 people, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s health authorities.

The Israeli campaign was triggered after the Oct. 7, 2023 ******-led attack on Israel. Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were abducted into Gaza.

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