Current:Home > StocksNames and ages of 5 killed written on scrap of paper show toll of Hamas-Israel war on Minnesota family-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Names and ages of 5 killed written on scrap of paper show toll of Hamas-Israel war on Minnesota family
View Date:2024-12-23 17:10:01
In blue ink on a scrap of white paper that sits on his desk, Jehad Adwan scribbles the names and ages of his wife's relatives.
Next to five names, he writes "killed" or simply, "K." Beside another five, he marks "injured" or "I."
With every news report, social media post and conversation with a relative, he's keeping track, from his suburban Minneapolis home, of the toll the Israel-Hamas war is taking on his family, and his wife's family, in Gaza.
"What is preoccupying my brain, my everything, is just the fear of what's going to happen next," he said in an interview.
The family told CBS Minnesota they have "nothing to do with Hamas," the terrorist group behind the attacks on Israelis.
"Israel says it is out to eliminate Hamas. Are you and your family Hamas? No. These children Hamas? No, they are not. I can tell you, none of them have anything to do with Hamas. Nothing to do with Hamas. And they will, like many other Palestinian kids, pay the price," Jehad Adwan told the station.
"We are not just numbers"
The family's plight reflects the far reach of the war for Palestinian and Israeli families around the world.
For Adwan, even the hospital bombing that killed hundreds in Gaza had a personal connection. It was the place where he trained to become a nurse before moving to the U.S. and becoming a nursing professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Adwan and his wife, Fatma Abumousa, found out Sunday that five of her relatives were killed, and another five were injured, after a bomb hit her family's multigenerational home in Khan Younis, a southern city and decades-old refugee camp in Gaza.
Abumousa said she first saw on the instant messaging app Telegram — in channels that Gaza journalists have been posting to — that her hometown was hit, then that it was her neighborhood. Finally, she saw her family's address.
"She woke me up. She was very upset and distraught. Very scared and crying," said Adwan, 54, while helping Abumousa, 41, translate from Arabic to English.
Abumousa confirmed with surviving family in Gaza that three of her nephews — ages 6, 7 and 18 — were killed and have been buried, along with her sister-in-law, 42, and cousin, 40.
"Little by little, through the morning, we learned all the details," Adwan said.
Hmaid, the 18-year-old nephew, was a "brilliant student" who loved calligraphy and building computers, Adwan said. The family had hoped he could study engineering in Germany.
Yusuf and Abdelrahman, the 6- and 7-year-olds, loved going to school and spending time with family. Hiba, their mother and Abumousa's sister-in-law, was an architect and novelist.
And Hani, Abumousa's cousin, had just moved from northern Gaza to the southern city to avoid danger after Israel ordered about 1 million people in northern Gaza to evacuate.
"Unfortunately, that didn't help him," Adwan said.
Among the five injured were Abumousa's other nieces and nephews, and the sister of her sister-in-law. Some have injuries to their backs, legs and shoulders from shrapnel, Adwan said. Another is in a coma.
Abumousa said through tears that she wants to stop losing people. She had planned to visit her parents in Gaza this month so they could meet her nearly 2-year-old son, Yaman. But now, she said, everything has changed.
Adwan said he wishes media reports would humanize Palestinians as much as they humanize Israelis.
"The Israeli side is being covered excessively. Their stories are told, their names are mentioned, their hobbies are listed," Adwan said. "We are not just numbers," he said of Palestinians.
Above all else, Adwan said he wants others to know this: "The Palestinian people want, demand and deserve freedom and equal human rights, like everyone in the world. Period."
Praying for the best and preparing for the worst, he tucks away the family's list.
On Friday afternoon, five days after learning of the bombing that killed Abumousa's relatives, Adwan said in a message to The Associated Press that 18 people - including nephews, nieces and neighbors - are thought to have been injured from the same bombing. "We learn more every day," he said.
He hasn't added their names to the list yet.
- In:
- Hamas
- Israel
- Gaza Strip
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Bohannan requests a recount in Iowa’s close congressional race as GOP wins control of House
- US soldier indicted for lying about association with group advocating government overthrow
- Injured Lionel Messi won't join Argentina for World Cup qualifying matches next month
- 4 children, ages 11-14, shot while driving around in stolen car in Minneapolis, police say
- DWTS' Sasha Farber Claps Back at Diss From Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader
- Winona Ryder Teases “Bittersweet” Final Season of Stranger Things
- What is moon water? Here's how to make it and what to use it for
- US Justice Department to investigate violence and sexual abuse at Tennessee’s largest prison
- Watch as massive amount of crabs scamper across Australian island: 'It's quite weird'
- How To Decorate Your Dorm Room for Under $200
Ranking
- Insurance magnate pleads guilty as government describes $2B scheme
- Budget-Friendly Back-to-School Makeup Picks Under $25
- A West Texas ranch and resort will limit water to residents amid fears its wells will run dry
- Taylor Swift finally sings long awaited 'Reputation' track
- 'We suffered great damage': Fierce California wildfire burns homes, businesses
- Alain Delon, French icon dubbed 'the male Brigitte Bardot,' dies at 88
- Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz's Red Carpet Date Night Is Pure Magic
- Hurricane Ernesto is hundreds of miles from US. Here's why East Coast is still in peril.
Recommendation
-
'Cowboy Carter' collaborators to be first country artists to perform at Rolling Loud
-
Dolphins’ Tagovailoa says McDaniel built him up after Flores tore him down as young NFL quarterback
-
It’s not just South Texas. Republicans are making gains with Latino voters in big cities, too.
-
Powell may use Jackson Hole speech to hint at how fast and how far the Fed could cut rates
-
We Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street—and Even More Secrets About the Beloved Show
-
Horoscopes Today, August 19, 2024
-
Indianapolis police sergeant faces internet child exploitation charges, department says
-
Wisconsin woman who argued she legally killed sex trafficker gets 11 years in prison