Gaza Infant Pulled Alive from Rubble After Family Killed in Israeli Airstrike
25-Day-Old Ayla Survives Deadly Bombing in Khan Younis as Rescue Crews Struggle Under Fire and Amid Equipment Shortages.
Watan-In a heartbreaking scene that echoes the darkest chapters of war, death has once again returned to the Gaza Strip, bringing with it the bloodstained mornings and destruction that now shroud every corner.
The sounds of shelling and explosions have become the only language spoken by the Israeli occupation forces to the people of Gaza, reviving the nightmares of past wars whose wounds remain unhealed.
Among the devastation in Khan Younis, the story of baby Ayla Osama Abu Duqqa—just 25 days old—stands out as a chilling testimony to a war that spares neither child nor elder, neither civilian nor fighter.
“They bombed the house,” said Khaled Abu Duqqa, the baby’s uncle. “Her entire family was killed—her father, mother, and brother. Ayla was the only one left, trapped under the rubble, crying in a voice barely audible.”
Choking back emotion, he continued, “The rescue was extremely difficult. We had very limited resources, and it took around five hours—from 3 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.—to retrieve the victims. We expected to find them all dead, but we were stunned to hear the tiny cry of that baby calling for life from beneath the debris.”
Khaled explained that civil defense teams, aided by residents, did everything they could to save the child. Despite a severe lack of equipment, they managed to pull her out alive. “Seeing her come out from under the rubble was both painful and joyful. Her survival couldn’t erase the sorrow of losing her entire family.”
A Miracle Amid the Ruins
Civil defense teams faced enormous challenges searching for the missing due to collapsed buildings that required heavy machinery to remove concrete ceilings. These challenges were evident during Ayla Abu Duqqa’s rescue.
Mou’men Al-Attar, a member of the rescue team in eastern Khan Younis, recalled a chilling scene. “When we arrived at the house at 3 a.m., residents were trying to dig out the victims with their bare hands. We managed to rescue a man, his wife, and two injured children and transported them to the European Hospital.”
“While recovering the bodies, we heard a baby crying under the rubble. Neighbors told us she was a newborn, less than a month old,” he said, tears welling in his eyes. “She would cry for a while, then fall silent from exhaustion, then cry again as if calling for life.”
“With only a small bulldozer, we couldn’t penetrate the reinforced concrete. We worked manually to open a hole in the slab, and finally pulled her out alive. But we also had to retrieve her mother, father, and brother—already martyred,” he added.
He emphasized the extreme difficulty of the mission due to ongoing siege conditions and the complete closure of aid crossings. “Thank God we saved Ayla—it was truly a miracle.”
“Where Can We Go?”
Gaza’s residents continue to live in fear and anxiety, especially since the Israeli army has not issued clear warnings about which areas it intends to target, pushing many people to flee deeper into Gaza in search of safety that simply doesn’t exist.
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Israeli army dropped a leaflet from drones announcing a limited ground operation in Gaza, stating it aimed to “expand the defensive zone and create a barrier between northern and southern Gaza.” The leaflet also warned civilians not to move between the two regions, further worsening the already dire humanitarian situation.
Mohammed Abu Razek, a resident of Khan Younis, expressed outrage over the “barbarity” of the Israeli strikes. “We can’t sleep, our children can’t sleep from fear. Bombs are falling everywhere without warning,” he said. “Then the army says we’re not the targets. But we’re being bombed in our own homes—where are we supposed to go?”
Civil Defense Under Fire
The challenges facing rescue teams are not only logistical. The Israeli army has repeatedly targeted civil defense crews during recovery operations, forcing them to retreat and leaving many bodies buried beneath the rubble.
Officer Ezzedine Abu Draz, from a civil defense unit in Khan Younis, confirmed what he described as a systematic targeting of rescue teams. “While trying to rescue civilians in Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis, we were shot at by Israeli quadcopter drones. A bomb was also dropped near our work site while we were extracting victims,” he said.
“With pain and anger in his voice,” he added, “we had to evacuate after recovering five martyrs, but one body remains trapped under the debris. The occupation is to blame for that soul not being retrieved and buried with dignity. We are fighting to save lives with barely any tools—breaking through reinforced concrete with our hands.”
