"At this time every year, I would usually be busy performing at Christmas and New Year's celebrations held by Gaza's hotels and restaurants before the war, Abdullah told Al Jazeera with a sad smile. In September, as an Israeli military ground operation began in northern Gaza, Abdullah was displaced from Beit Lahiya in the north to an apartment belonging to relatives in central Gaza City."
"I was returning from the market with a friend and had bought a few things for the house, said Abdullah, who is married and the father of a four-year-old child. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion. I didn't wake up until I found myself lying on the ground, surrounded by black smoke. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't. I looked at my legs, one had been completely severed at the knee, and the other was badly torn apart, he recalled."
Abdullah was an energetic performer who entertained at weddings, hotels and restaurants before the war. He was displaced from Beit Lahiya to central Gaza as military operations began. An air strike near as-Saraya Junction severely injured him while returning from the market, leaving one leg severed at the knee and the other badly torn. He lost consciousness and later woke in hospital to learn both legs were amputated above the knee, with wounds wrapped in white bandages. He is married with a four-year-old child and witnessed his friend killed in the blast. He expresses acceptance and clings to hope for prosthetic limbs and a better future.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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