I have known Aline’s family for almost 20 years. I first met her uncle, Amgad, when he was on the staff of Al-Najd Developmental Forum, and I was the director of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) United Nations Office.  On almost-annual visits, Amgad would escort the MCC staff traveling from Jerusalem, Washington, Ottawa and the UN to meet the Palestinian families who were raising rabbits or planting gardens with help from Al-Najd and MCC.

After retiring from MCC, I kept in touch with Amgad.  Since the war broke out in October 2023, Amgad and I have communicated by text almost every day.  My understanding with Amgad was that if he went through the painful process of describing his situation in detail, I would share those insights with family, friends and government officials.  I have met personally with my congressman and other government officials, spoken at demonstrations and shared Amgad’s stories on a personal email list of a few dozen family and friends. 

It has personally been quite difficult to learn the painful details of the struggle of one family and to feel so powerless to end this genocide.  I have been candid with Amgad; I have not been able to stop this war, but I have shared the pain and suffering of his family with my family and friends who have promised to pray for his family and do what they can to end this genocide. 

It is difficult to comprehend how over 18,000 Palestinian children have been killed in in Gaza in the last 21 months, but perhaps the story of one young girl will help us understand what these children have faced.

Aline was born in Gaza City, Gaza, on March 29, 2022, to her loving parents, Shadi (35) and his wife Zahra (23), and an older brother, Anas (3).  Aline lived happily in a large house with her grandparents, uncles, aunts and a few cousins.  Aline was only a year-and-a-half old when her comfortable life was upended by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli invasion, bombing and shelling of Gaza. 

Gaza City was one of the first areas to be attacked at the beginning of the war.  The Israelis had ordered all Palestinians in Gaza City to go to the south of Gaza, and many of Aline’s neighbors had headed south, but soon reported that they were being shelled and shot at by Israeli forces as they traveled south, so Aline’s family decided that it was just as safe to stay in the north.

Israeli shelling soon hit in the area of Aline’s family home, so the family went first to other relatives’ homes, then to a variety of abandoned schools in the area that Palestinians were using as shelter.  Aline and her extended family eventually ended up in a third story classroom in the Umar bin Aas School in Gaza City. 

Fifty-five of Aline’s relatives were sheltering in a small (five meters by five meters) classroom on November 19, 2023, when an Israeli tank shell hit at 3:20 p.m. The shell killed Aline’s grandfather, her aunt and a great-aunt. It was not the only shell to hit the school that afternoon, and more than 25 other people were killed that day in that school.

In the middle of the shelling, the family decided that Aline’s father, Shadi, as the oldest son in the family, would remain behind to bury his father and other dead relatives, while the rest of the family would flee in the midst of the shelling to try to make their way to the south of Gaza, as the Israelis had ordered. The family, led by Amgad, the second-oldest son, traveled by foot, taking shelter in any school or mosque that they found along the way.  Eventually they made it to Rafah where they bought several tents for the family to live in. 

Unfortunately, the stress of the trip and the trauma of the family separation were too much. In April 2024, Aline’s mother, Zahra, died of heartbreak and a heart attack and was buried in an informal cemetery.  A week later, the family noticed that Anas (4) was not in the tent or playing with the other children.  Neighbors were alerted, but no one had seen Anas.  The uncles searched widely and finally discovered Anas a kilometer away, at his mother’s grave, trying to retrieve his mother.

When Hamas and Israel agreed upon a ceasefire on January 19, 2025, the family waited a few days to make sure that it would be safe, and then walked back to the family home in Gaza City, where Aline’s father was waiting to welcome them.

For a few months Aline’s father and uncles worked to repair their partially destroyed home, but on March 18, the Israeli government broke the ceasefire and reattacked Gaza.  Much of Gaza has been declared evacuation zones where Palestinians have been ordered to leave, but the few designated safe areas have seen almost as much military action as the evacuation zones, so Aline’s family has decided to stay in their partially destroyed home in Gaza City.  Food, water and healthcare are all in short supply in Gaza, and Aline, as most of her extended family, was diagnosed as malnourished by the nearby hospital. 

Aline had not been feeling well for almost a week, so when her temperature rose to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, Shadi decided it would be important to take Aline to the nearby hospital.  Aline was riding on Shadi’s shoulder when a tank shell hit nearby, sending a piece of shrapnel into Aline’s head.  Her father continued running until he reached the hospital, but despite the best efforts of the doctors, on July 17, 2025, Aline became the latest of the estimated 18,000 Palestinian children who have been killed in this war.

Shadi decided that Aline should be buried with her mother, who loved her so much.  Zahra’s tomb was opened, and Shadi placed Aline again in her mother’s arms.

Rest in peace, little one.

When will the world rise up and stop this senseless genocide?

We must demand that our government end American support of this genocidal war. Mennonite Action and Mennonite Central Committee are two Mennonite resources to assist in that effort.