Humans of Gaza: 19-year-old engineering student Shaban Al Dalou burned alive

By Humaira Ahad

In a haunting footage that shocked the world, 19-year-old Shaban Al Dalou was seen engulfed in flames following an Israeli attack on the refugee tents in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, northern Gaza, on Monday.

A software engineering student at Al-Azhar University in the besieged territory, the young Palestinian had survived an Israeli bombing that targeted a mosque in the central part of the Gaza Strip on October 6.

Al Dalou was injured during the brutal mosque attack in the central town of Deir al-Balah in early October, which killed more than 25 people and wounded nearly a hundred Palestinians last month.

He was transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where doctors identified grievous injuries to his head and lungs. His friends considered his survival on October 6 a miracle.

However, on October 14, while Al Dalou was still receiving treatment, the Israeli regime bombed the refugee tents in the hospital’s courtyard. The deadly strike ignited a fire that spread quickly, completely engulfing and burning down 20 to 30 tents.

Eyewitnesses say Al Dalou tried to call for help from paramedics and fellow refugees, but no one could reach him due to the intensity of the fire, which consumed the tents and everyone inside them.

Al Dalou’s mother, Alaa, who was attending to her injured son, was also burned alive in the same attack. At least four Palestinians were killed, and nearly 50 were injured.

The young man, who was known as the reciter of the Holy Quran, was his mother’s favorite child. She often said, “Shaban is dearest to me because he has memorized the Holy Quran.”

“Shaban was martyred yesterday alongside his mother, Alaa. He never left her side. We used to joke and tell him, ‘You’re like her shadow.’ Glory be to God, they went to heaven together,” said Yousef Abu Zarouk, a Palestinian man who survived the attack.

Abu Zarouk remembered Al Dalou as a kind young man, always willing to help others.

“May God have mercy on him. He endured unimaginable pain as the fire consumed him while he was still alive,” said Abu Zarouk, who is struggling to recover from the trauma.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the Al Dalou family had been forcibly displaced nearly five times. The family eventually arrived in Deir al-Balah, where Shaban, being the eldest sibling, was responsible for taking care of his parents and four younger siblings.

In an undated video in English, Al Dalou narrated the Israeli genocidal crimes in Gaza. He spoke about the difficult circumstances faced by Palestinians in the besieged territory and had been trying to launch a campaign to evacuate his family to safety.

Social media has been abuzz with condemnation of the attack that burned the young Palestinian alive. Shocked users took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the Israeli assault.

Expressing shock, social media users took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the Israeli attack that killed the young Palestinian and many others.

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