Story of Aisha Salim, 10 years old, Mar Elias, Beirut

My name is Aisha Salim, and I am in grade five at Al-Kabri UNRWA

school in Mar Elias. I am 10 years old. When they carried out the

operation in our camp, protests erupted, and my family and I were

happy with the news. The school also organised a celebration, asking us

to draw about Palestine, and those who knew a song about Palestine

sang it. When I went home and saw on television that the Israeli aircraft

were killing children, I became scared. I started praying for God to

support Gaza, and I pray every day.

Whenever they turn on the television for the news, and I see those

scenes, I pray for God to have mercy on the martyrs and to grant

victory to the resistance in Gaza. My cousin and my cousins daughter

are living in Gaza. My aunt calls them every day to check on them

because we are living in the same place. I hear her asking about the

situation, and they tell us about the frequent bombings. Sometimes

there is no contact, and my cousin's daughter calls her neighbors

because they have a landline, and she reassures them because they

have no contact. Her house was destroyed, but thankfully, they

survived, although her husband and his family were martyred. My aunt

was shocked and fell ill, but now she is getting better. My father is very

worried about them. I cannot go to Gaza to help them physically, but

my message reaches them, and I tell them: "we are with you, brave

people of Gaza."

Aisha Salim, 10 years old

Mar Elias, Beirut, Lebanon