Shaban al-Dalou was a 19-year-old software engineering student who had been displaced from his home and was struggling to survive in central Gaza. Just days before his 20th birthday, he tragically lost his life. Over the past months, he had been tirelessly seeking help for his family, documenting their plight and the challenges of living under bombardment, but he could not gather enough funds to evacuate them from Gaza.
The world took notice of Shaban when his final moments were captured on video. He was connected to an IV drip and burned alive alongside his mother when Israeli forces bombed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital complex in Deir el-Balah early on Monday.
In the weeks leading up to his death, Shaban shared videos highlighting the harsh realities of life in Gaza, foreshadowing the horrific end he faced. He stated, “There is no safe place here in Gaza,” while filming from the makeshift tent he had called home after fleeing.
Shaban also expressed the difficulties of accessing food due to the separation caused by the Israeli occupation, which has severely limited resources. He had previously volunteered to donate blood at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a site that had been attacked multiple times before the bombing that claimed his life, calling for a ceasefire to end the suffering.
Despite his efforts to support his family, Shaban’s life was cut short when the tents, which had been a shelter for many displaced individuals, were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, trapping him and his relatives inside.
His father, Ahmad al-Dalou, who survived but was severely burned, described the harrowing moment when he realized his children were engulfed in flames. “I couldn’t rescue anyone. I did what I could,” he lamented. Shaban had aspired to become a doctor and had even memorized the entire Quran, continuing to study amid the chaos.
The bombing at the hospital killed not only Shaban and his mother but also injured dozens of others, leading to panic and chaos as people tried to escape the flames. Many, like Shaban’s family, had been displaced multiple times, seeking refuge where they thought they would be safe.
As the attacks on Gaza escalate, with international attention drawn to the violence, Shaban’s tragic story resonates as a symbol of the broader suffering experienced by many in the region. His father, mourning his son and wife, expressed a yearning for peace and basic human rights for his family and others affected by the conflict.
