The Girl Hala

The 12-year-old girl, Hala Abu Dahlez, never imagined that a moment of playing on a swing near her tent would turn into a nightmare stealing her childhood and leaving her with wounds that cannot be seen with the eyes but felt deep in her heart and soul.

In a sudden moment, amid nearby Israeli shelling, Hala’s hair got caught in the swing, causing her to flip over and completely tear off the scalp of her head, leaving her without hair and struggling to accept her new image in the mirror of life.

Hala told Shehab News Agency: “I was playing as usual when a shell exploded beside me. My hair got stuck in the swing, and I fell. My scalp was completely torn off… Since then, I have not left the tent.”

It is not only the physical injury that hurts Hala, but also the stares and astonishment of other children, some screaming when they see her, which traps her inside her tent, unable to regain the simplest of her rights: to be a child. She describes her feelings: “The children run away from me, asking why I have no hair? Why does my head look like this?”

Her family had been displaced from Rafah to the outskirts of Khan Younis for the sixth time, fleeing death, only to face a new suffering with an even heavier impact. Despite attempts to treat her in Gaza’s hospitals, the siege and the collapse of the healthcare system due to the ongoing aggression prevented her recovery. After a month in hospital, infections worsened, and doctors announced their inability to treat her inside Gaza, admitting she must be referred abroad for treatment.

However, the ongoing siege still prevents her from traveling, while her physical and psychological condition continues to deteriorate. Meanwhile, her father, injured since the start of the war, is also suffering from a serious health decline after being hit by shrapnel in the head about a month ago, resulting in a skull fracture and paralysis.

With sorrow, Hala says: “We live on lentils. We cannot afford bread or medicine. I have four sisters and one brother, and I am the eldest, but I cannot take care of anyone, not even myself.”

Today, Hala lives between the pain of her body, the harsh looks of society, and the anxious wait for treatment that may not come soon. With a broken voice, she appeals to everyone who can help: “I just want to play again… to be like before… to leave the tent.”