One year later: Gaza woman still haunted by loss

A year ago, a photograph of Inas Abu Maamar cradling the body of her five-year-old niece, Saly, after an airstrike became a powerful symbol of Gaza's suffering during Israel’s military offensive.

Inas Abu Maamar is still grappling with the unimaginable loss of her family. In the attack, Saly was killed alongside her mother, baby sister, grandparents, uncle, aunt, and three cousins. The pain didn’t end there for Inas. Since then, her sister and her four children have also been killed in another airstrike. Inas recalled:

I tried to wake her up. I couldn’t believe she was dead

A family torn apart

Inas sits on the rubble at the site where Saly was killed, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.Reuters

Before the bombings, Inas lived a quiet life in Gaza with her husband, near her brother Ramez’s family. She spent much of her time with her nieces and nephew, including Saly. When the airstrikes began, Ramez moved his family to his in-laws' house for safety. The next day, that house was hit by an airstrike.

Inas visits with her nephew Ahmed, Saly's brother, a damaged cemetery where Saly was buried, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip September 11, 2024Reuters

Inas rushed to the hospital, where she found her four-year-old nephew Ahmed alive but saw Saly’s lifeless body. The image of her holding Saly, wrapped in a white sheet, was taken by Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem. It was later named World Press Photo of the year and won a Pulitzer Prize.

Displacement and despair

Since then, Inas has had to move three times to escape the violence, at one point spending four months living in a tent. Today, she is back in her damaged home in Khan Younis. The roof is cracked, and a shower curtain covers a hole in the wall.

“We lost all hope in everything,” Inas said, sitting in the small family graveyard where Saly is buried. Even Saly’s grave wasn’t safe from the bombings.

Despite the destruction, Inas feels there is no point in moving again. She keeps a piece of Saly’s memory close, often holding her niece’s favorite black dress with traditional Palestinian embroidery.

This photo became one of the most striking images of Palestinian suffering during the Israeli offensive on Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.Reuters

The ongoing conflict

The war in Gaza began after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year, which left around 1,200 Israelis dead. Since then, Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas have killed over 41,500 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to local health authorities.

Israel defends its actions, saying it aims to eliminate Hamas, which it accuses of hiding among civilians. Hamas denies this claim. The ongoing violence has displaced thousands of families like Inas’, and many continue to live in fear.

“We are just waiting for the cascade of blood to stop.''

Inas now waits for the violence to end, but her grief and memories of Saly remain.