“Soul of my soul”
Attempting to open her unresponsive eyes for a farewell kiss, Khaled Nabhan lovingly rubs his beard against his three-year-old granddaughter's lifeless head, tenderly cleans her blood-stained face, and embraces her repeatedly before bidding a heartbreaking final goodbye.
In describing the innocence of his slain granddaughter, Reem, Nabhan poignantly refers to her as his "ruh-el-ruh," translating to "the soul of the soul." As he reflects on the profound bond he shared with Reem, a bittersweet smile illuminates Nabhan's face.
Tragedy struck when an Israeli airstrike, targeting the Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza, brought down their home, claiming the lives of three-year-old Reem and her five-year-old brother Tareq. The family, sound asleep when the house was bombed last week just before the temporary truce, faced the devastating aftermath.
Waking amidst chaos, Nabhan searched for his children and grandchildren, thwarted by the absence of electricity that hindered locating them in the wreckage. Describing the scene of destruction, he points to the debris of their once-standing home.
Reem's mother, Maysa, suffered severe injuries in the attack and is currently in the process of recuperation. Tragically, the helpless mother, buried under the heavy rubble, couldn't rescue her little girl who cried out for help.
With Reem's father working outside Palestine, the family resided with her grandfather Nabhan, who shares a poignant statement about the inseparable nature of their relationship. "We were inseparable, I loved her more than my soul," Nabhan expresses, capturing the profound depth of their connection.
In a poignant video shared on social media, the grief-stricken grandfather is captured tenderly fixing Tareq's hair and capturing images of the lifeless brother and sister lying on the ground, shrouded in white, prepared for burial. Expressing his sorrow, Nabhan laments, "I combed his hair like he would always ask me to, like the photo he would always show me. He loved his hair like that, now he's gone."
In another clip circulating on social media, Nabhan wears Reem's earring on his shirt as a poignant keepsake. Tearfully, he explains, "Reem and her brother Tareq are the essence of my soul. I was cleaning their faces with a salt solution to get rid of the dust, and I found the earring." Holding the earring as a symbol, he adds, "I want to take the earring and want to keep it as a souvenir from you."
Reflecting on the viral video, netizens expressed the enduring impact of the grandfather's emotional scenes, especially the heartbreaking moment of him kissing his granddaughter's lifeless body. Nabhan, visibly crestfallen, emphasizes the significance of the earring, saying, "She will stay with me; I will remember her through this earring. I want to remember her and keep her earring as a badge. She is gone, and may you rest in peace, Reem."
The grandfather had been planning to celebrate Reem's birthday, coincidentally sharing the same birth date on December 23. However, overwhelmed with grief, he now finds it impossible to celebrate his own birthday without her. Seeking solace in his faith, Nabhan turns to God, acknowledging, "We should only complain to God; only God knows our sadness and heartbreak. God Almighty is the one who will seek retribution." In a heartfelt prayer, he implores, "I pray to God Almighty with His highest attributes and perfect words that Reem’s blood (ruh-el-ruh) and the blood of Tareq, and all other martyrs fall as a curse upon Israel, America, and their allies."
Amidst the memories, Nabhan recalls Reem's favorite game of pulling his beard and their playful interactions. Describing the tender moments, he says, "I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose, and she would giggle. I kissed her, but she wouldn’t wake up." The sentence is incomplete, but it conveys the profound loss and grief experienced by the grandfather.
Happy Birthday Reem