Riyad, 19, is from the northern town of Beit Lahia, from Al Atatra, an area that was hit hard by the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza. On January 5, he was seriously wounded by a rocket and doctors had to amputate his left leg. Two weeks after the ceasefire, he is now receiving physiotherapy at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) post-operative clinic in Gaza City.
I was at home with my family. It was a calm day, there was no sound of airplanes or tanks so we decided to go outside. I went to a nearby shop to buy some things. When I came back home, there was a sudden knock at the door. I saw the neighbour’s kids. They were in a state of panic. I asked them what was going on. “They’re attacking Al Atatra, get inside” they warned. I don’t know what happened next. I fell to the floor. I think I remained unconscious for several minutes.
When I came to, I saw my father on the floor, his legs covered in blood. But he got up and lifted my brother and I inside. He tried to call for help, but no one answered. I stayed on the floor for nearly half an hour, bleeding.
My wife ran towards me, screaming. "I’ve been hit! I’m going to die", I told her. I couldn’t see clearly, everything was a blur. My father and mother were running around screaming for help, but no one responded. Then my father came back home, lifted me up and took me outside to look for help, or an ambulance. They brought my brother out too. But there weren’t any cars or ambulances. We waited in the street for nearly an hour and a half.
By chance, a neighbour came out and saw us. He had a small tractor. He wanted to help us, but his mother stopped him and asked him not to go. He pushed his mother away and helped the seven of us onto the tractor, including my father and I. We piled on, one on top of another.
We started driving slowly. We crossed one road, then another. Then they opened fire on us. We went back and started waving a white flag.
I’d lost a lot of blood. I was taken to Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where they gave me a blood transfusion. Five of us had been hit; one of us – my neighbour – died.
I fell in and out of consciousness, but I remember when the rocket hit me. I saw my leg torn off, attached to my body by a bit of flesh. I was unconscious at the hospital, but when I woke up, my leg had already been amputated.
It’s not a big deal, thank God. I’m not demoralised. Of course when you see other people walking, it’s painful, but it could have been worse. I’m not going to stay at home. I plan to graduate in geography and I really hope I can get a good job. God Willing.
