Family's agony following the death of their mother and sons burned alive in a tent in Gaza

al-Dalou family photo

Sha'aban al-Dalou – seen here in a selfie he took with members of his family – was killed when an Israeli strike set fire to his tent in central Gaza

Warning: This piece contains graphic descriptions of deaths and injuries

There is no conscience. There is no humanity. There are only leaders who watch and do not act.

This is what Ahmed al-Dalou believes, while images of his family on fire come back to his mind. He says his life is over. He died in the hellish Al-Aqsa compound with his boys and wife in the early hours of Monday, October 14.

In front of him, on the ground, is a shroud wrapped around the body of Abdulrahman, 12, his youngest son.

The child suffered for four days after the fire started by an Israeli strike. The day before his death, Ahmed saw him in the hospital and he was able to tell his father: Don't worry, I'm fine dad, I'm fine. Don't be afraid.

Ahmed speaks half, half in tears, when he talks about what was taken from him.

Three times I tried to pull it [Abdulrahman] out of the fire, but his body fell back into it.

His older brother, Sha'aban, 19, and his mother, Alaa, 37, both died the night of the fire.

Sha'aban has become a new symbol of Gaza's terrible suffering. Footage of him writhing in pain as he burned to death in the family tent was shared around the world on social media.

Ahmed's face and hands are burned. The tone of his voice is sharp, lively. Of the unnamed pilot who sent the missile and the leaders who gave him orders, Ahmed said: They broke my heart and my spirit. I wish the fire would burn me.

The strike took place around 1:15am local time last Monday (11:15pm BST Sunday).

The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas “command and control” center at the al-Aqsa hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Hamas denies operating in hospitals.

Ahmed al-Dalou survived the fire that gutted tents at al-Aqsa compound – but suffered burns to his face and hands while trying to save his family

Four people were killed instantly and dozens more were injured, many with severe burns. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.

A White House spokesperson told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that images of the fire were deeply disturbing and called on Israel to do more to protect civilians.

Israel has a responsibility to do more to prevent civilian casualties – and what happened here is horrific – even though Hamas was operating near the hospital with the aim of using civilians as human shields.

The United States and other powers, including Britain, have expressed concern about civilian casualties since the early stages of the war.

Reuters

Palestinians attempt to fight fire that ravaged tents used by displaced people

People are being burned alive, torn to pieces and shot every day in this war.

Most of the time, the agonies take place far from the cameras. It is the frantic search for survivors in the rubble, the dramatic scenes in hospitals, the incessant flow of funerals which are captured by the cameras.

But Sha'aban al-Dalou's death was different. His hand can be seen emerging from the inferno, a figure enveloped in flames, writhing and beyond the reach of any help.

In the days following his death, Sha'aban's own videos and photographs were released. He was a typical teenager of his generation, aware of the power of social networks, fond of recording his daily life.

The burning figure on the night of the fire appeared to the world as an intelligent and articulate teenager, a software engineering student, a young man who took care of his family while planning a new life outside Gaza. He filmed himself donating blood and encouraged others to do the same.

We have seen so many injured people, many children are in dire need of blood. All we demand is a ceasefire and an end to this tragedy.

We can only tell the story of the al-Dalou family thanks to our own local journalist who went to meet the survivors. International media journalists, including the BBC, are not granted independent access to Gaza by Israel.

In a video recorded in the tent where he died, Sha'aban described how his family had been displaced five times since the war began a year ago. He had two sisters and two younger brothers.

We live in very difficult circumstances, he said. We suffer from various things such as homelessness, limited food and extremely limited medicine.

In the background as he speaks, the loud mechanical hum of an Israeli observation drone can be heard, a constant in Gaza's daily and nightly soundtrack.

Sha'aban and Abdulrahman's surviving brother, Mohammed al-Dalou, told the BBC that he tried to throw himself into the flames to save his older brother.

But other wounded men held him back, fearing that he too would be killed. Mohammed did not sleep in the family tent, but outside, in the street, where he watched their stacked belongings.

I screamed for someone to let me go, but to no avail my brother's leg was stuck and he couldn't free himself. I think you saw it in the video. He raised his hand.

“He was my brother. He was my support in this world.

Sha'aban would come and wake him up for morning prayer with a bottle of water and tell him: I will work for you.

Mohammed al-Dalou saw his loved ones die in the fire

Mohammed recalled how the brothers set up a stall at the hospital gates selling food prepared by the family.

We achieved everything through our hard work. Everything we had was the result of our efforts. We were given food and drink, then everything was lost.

He saw the burned bodies, but could only identify his mother. Although her remains were mutilated by fire, he recognized a distinctive bracelet.

Without it, I wouldn't have known she was my mother. Her hand was detached from her body, but the bracelet was still on it. I took it out of his hand.

It’s his only memory of the woman who was the kindness of our house.”

The al-Dalou family is in shock. The survivors mourn the dead. Our BBC colleague asked Mohammed about the psychological cost of seeing loved ones die.

I can't describe it. I can't describe what I felt. I want to explain it to people, but I can't. I can't describe it. I saw my brother burning in front of me, and my mother too.

Then, as if asking a question on behalf of the dead, he asks: What more do you need, and you remain silent? You see us burning and you stay silent.

Additional reporting by Haneen Abdeen and Alice Doyard

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