In the first published photos of the seven-year-old girl who was hit by fragments from an intercepted Iranian missile during Iran’s weekend attacks on Israel, the young woman can be seen smiling in a heartbreaking gesture toward happier, healthier times. .
Amina al-Hassouni has had to fight for her life in hospital after being hit by shrapnel in the head in her home at 2am on Sunday.
Over the weekend, Iran launched 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and at least 120 ballistic missiles during the country’s first direct attack on Israel.
And while little Amina was devastatingly caught in the crossfire, her father has released two images of the little girl who is still in critical condition.
In one of the images shared with The Jewish Chronicle (JC) by Mohammed al-Hassouni, the schoolgirl can be seen with her hair in pigtails, while another shows her smiling playfully at the camera on a sunny day.
The first images have been released of 7-year-old Amina al-Hassouni, who was hit by shrapnel from an Iranian missile during Saturday night’s “unprecedented” attack on Israel.
The little girl is currently fighting for her life in a hospital in southern Israel after suffering a significant head injury.
The remains of a rocket booster that Israel says seriously injured a seven-year-old girl
Speaking to the JC, al-Hassouni recalled the moment his young daughter was hit by the missile after it passed through their house.
She said her home, located in the Bedouin village of Al-Fura, was not equipped with a shelter, causing shrapnel to hit Amina while she was sleeping.
‘We ran out, took our car and headed to Arad. There, Magen David Adom [Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service] He met us and took Amina to the emergency room at Soroka Medical Center,” Mr. al-Hassouni said.
‘She is in a very serious condition, she underwent two surgeries. They told us to wait and that’s what we’re doing. We hope and pray all the time,’ she added.
Soroka said eight other people had arrived with minor injuries, some also hit by shrapnel.
Doctors treating the girl have warned that her life remains in danger as they urgently work to treat her serious head injury, while al-Hassouni also fears for the lives of her other 14 children.
He revealed that one of his sons fell during the “unprecedented” intense bombardment and injured his stomach before his family noticed he was bleeding profusely.
“They gave him medication, he is with us now, but he is still suffering,” the distraught father said.
Residents carry the remains of a rocket booster that allegedly injured seven-year-old Amina.
People gather around a building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Nabi Sheet in Baablbek district in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley on April 14, 2024.
After the ordeal, al-Hassouni decided to remove his family from their home because, he says, his children are too afraid to return.
He revealed that he and his family have now started living on the streets and have had no support from the government, regardless of his daughter’s situation.
The 14-year-old father described Amina as a healthy girl who loves to sing and dance, adding that all her siblings trust her.
“Amina is not related to this chaos, she knows nothing, she does not understand politics and she should stay out of it,” he said.
He has now called on Israel to develop a stronger protection system against airstrikes, saying what he really wants is for all children to be able to live their lives.
It comes after IDF spokesman Dangiel Hagari revealed that “99 percent” of the missiles launched on Saturday were intercepted overnight by the country’s Iron Dome air defense system and with help from the United Kingdom and United States, among other countries.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said RAF aircraft shot down “several” Iranian drones and condemned the attacks as “dangerous and unnecessary”.
He warned that it would have been “difficult to overstate” the consequences for regional stability if Iran had succeeded.
But as tensions continue to rise, Israel vowed that Iran will not go “free,” despite threats from Tehran that it will employ “weapons we have never used before” in response to any retaliatory attacks.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said his country “cannot stand by in the face of this type of aggression” and that Iran would not get its way.
Iran claimed its attack was an act of self-defense following a deadly Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Syria, and that it would consider the matter “concluded” unless Israel retaliated.
But this has not stopped Israel from declaring that it will respond to its unprecedented attack as soon as this weekend, amid fears that the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war.
The head of the Israeli armed forces, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, vowed Monday to respond to the attack, even as world leaders called for restraint over fears of a broader regional conflict.
“This launching of so many missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on the territory of the State of Israel will receive a response,” Halevi told troops at the Nevatim air base, which was hit by the Iranian bombing on Saturday. evening.