I cry with you Abu al-Aish

The deaths that opened the hearts of many Israelis.

So many deaths in this bloody war between Israel and Hamas have been in vain. If anything can be a consolation to Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish at this unimaginable hard time, is the fact that the death of his 3 daughters opened a channel between Palestinian hearts to the mainstream Israeli hearts.

It happened last night, and the events were broadcasted live in prime time to homes across Israel. I can tell that my elderly parents, whose town was under Hamas missile attacks for more than 2 weeks now, were sobbing on the phone.

I believe that the tragic death of Dr. Abu al-Aish's daughters was not in vain. It opened the hearts of many other Israelis (According to polls 72% of the population believes that the war against Hamas is justified) and made them see not only the ugly face of war, but their opponent as a human being and a brother.

I can tell Dr. Abu al-Aish that many in Israel cried with him last night. And that when the fire ends soon and when we all start to pick up our pieces, his voice and the images of his daughters being rushed to Israeli hospitals will stay burnt in Israeli awareness.

The Palestinians are not beasts, neither are the Israelis. The war is, and some political and religious leaders are.

We will have to reach for each other, heal the wounds together, build trust a little by little and start a dialogue. There's just no other way.

I cry with you Abu al-Aish.

From The Associated Press:

Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a Palestinian doctor who trained in Israel, has been a regular fixture on Israeli television during the 21-day-old war against Hamas militants, bringing witness accounts of the medical crisis facing Gazans to Israeli living rooms.

His report Friday was drenched in grief as he sobbed through a cell phone that three of his daughters and a niece were killed by an Israel Defense Forces shell.

"I want to know why my daughters were harmed. This should haunt (Israeli Ehud Prime Minister) Olmert his entire life," Abu al-Aish said on Israel's Channel 10, speaking through a cell phone in Hebrew as he has throughout the war.

Gazan officials identified Al-Aish's deceased daughters as 22-year-old Bisan, 15-year-old Mayer and 14-year old Aya. His niece was identified as 14-year-old Nour Abu al-Aish.

At least two other daughters were injured.

Throughout the war, Abu al-Aish had put a face on the Palestinian suffering, making regular reports by cell phone to Israel's Channel 10. He is a rarity among Palestinians, a Hebrew-speaker who trained in two Israeli hospitals - the Soroka hospital in Beersheba just 18 miles from Gaza, and Tel Aviv's Tel Hashomer hospital.

His tragedy prompted numerous calls of concern to the station, many from
people who know him.

"We all know and love him well at Soroka, and we really hope the situation gets better," Dr. Shaul Sofer, head of the ER at Soroka who taught Abu al-Aish.

Abu al-Aish, a 55-year-old gynecologist, also is a known peace activist who was involved in promoting joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, and an academic who studied the affects of war on Gazan and Israeli children. He works at Gaza's main Shifa Hospital.

During the call-ins, Abu al-Aish often spoke of his fears for his eight children as Israeli shells punished not only the Hamas militants they were targeting but civilians who live in the crowded enclave, unable to leave. His wife reportedly died recently of cancer.

When Channel 10 called him on Friday, he answered the phone crying that his house in the northern Gaza strip town of Jebalia had been hit by Israeli shells and his daughters killed. Eighteen members of his extended family were in the house at the time.

Israeli TV said initial reports indicated that a sniper had fired from either the family's building - which friends quoted by TV said they doubted - or nearby, and the Israeli infantry responded with a tank shell.

Abu al-Aish was able to arrange the transfer of two injured daughters to Israeli hospitals - something that has been extremely rare during this conflict. The Israeli army also for the first time allowed a Palestinian ambulance to go straight to the Erez border crossing, where the injured were transferred to Israeli ambulances.

From there, they were taken by helicopter to Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv.

"Everyone knew we were home. Suddenly we were bombed. How can we talk to Olmert and (Foreign Minister) Tzipi Livni after this?" Abu al-Aish told television reporters at the border crossing.

"Suddenly, today when there was hope for a cease-fire, on the last day...I was speaking with my children, suddenly they bombed us. The doctor who treats Israeli patients."

ENDS

From a press conference Dr. Abu al-Aish held in the hospital

'My children should be the last to die'

Dr. Abu al-Aish arrived at the Sheba Medical Center where he works as a gynecologist on Friday night. "I had three beautiful daughters who loved to help people. They were soldiers of peace," he said.

"I hope this is the end. If this death satisfies the leadership, my children should be the last to die," he told his colleagues at the hospital.

Abu al-Aish was not at home when the tank hit the building, and learned of his daughters' death when he got there.

"I wanted to devote my life to the girls. I only lost my wife several months ago," he told the many friends who arrived at the hospital.

Many of the doctor's acquaintances – including reporters, human rights activists and physicians who have worked with him – arrived at the hospital immediately after the incidents.

Radio host Gabi Gazit, who had spoken to him many times since the start of Operation Cast Lead, said, "It's this ugly war. A doctor is sitting here, I would almost call him a Zionist Palestinian, and grieving the loss of his three daughters, wanting to know what this happened."

'He believes in coexistence'

Dr. Liat Lerner-Geva, Director of the Women and Children's Health Research Unit at the Gertner Institute, who has worked with Dr. Abu al-Aish on his research, told Ynet, "I don't know how this man will get back on his feet after this tragedy."

She said that she had tried to contact the doctor immediately after watching the report on television.

"He returned to Gaza on Thursday before the operation began. He went to see the children and was supposed to return to Israel on Monday, but on Monday he could no longer return.

"He would arrive in Israel and stay with friends three nights a week. Although he had permits, they would always give him trouble at the crossings. He believed in coexistence and practiced it in his work," she said.

Dr. Abu al-Aish's study examined the treatment of Palestinian children at Israeli hospitals. As opposed to Israeli children who are released after a short while, the Palestinians children usually remain hospitalized in Israel for a long time because the treatment and follow-up cannot be continued in the Strip.

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Comment by Mahmood Sairally on January 18, 2009 at 2:15am: It is so so so sad to hear about the death of the three of our brother Dr. Abu Al-Aish, a gynaecologist who not only cure and care about Palestinians but also Israeli patients. He who has helped mothers to give birth to children, giving the first rays of Light to them, now witnesses and sees his three grown-up daughters killed or shall I rather say murdered by Israeli soldiers. I is a shame on the Israeli members of government and the fanatics. How can he now overcome this pain? Wil he ever be the same person again. May The Almighty help him to get over this terrible pain and give him the courage to face life and carry the peaceful work he has been doing and bring love and help to those who are in need.

Dear sisters and brothers now we can understand how those who have lost those so near to them in this cruel and inhuman conflit, feel. I have also children and grand-children, I do not know what I would have done if such thing would have happened to me or to members of my parents.

Mahmood

Comment by sharon on January 18, 2009 at 1:36am: all my honest cares and my thoughts of light are been sending to you , brave Dr .human who
represent the essence of peace. its seems that this trgedice simbole the unfair side off life.
and its do not eazy to deal with that. wish that life on the gaza ground could have been fastly resolve.
the hardest part for us ,as a peace-soporters ,its to see the long distance from ouer perspective to those who
tooks part on the main issue of this conflict. its a long long distance dear freinds.
ouer wepen shuld be the patience, side by side of ouer activity for awernes , ouer exampols humenity to those who serounede us, and yess - the ..news the dad peopole and the flash lights off those cameras should send the message ( on this unelegant way ) that the price of ground and caltures do not equal to - breth of life on this earth. its not equal to ouer intrest to live peacfull life.
the life of those dougthers and those souls which secrfice they phisicall body ( like meny others ) will be continue to take place and to sopport the mision of peace to acheave awernece to this injures ground,
to those darcks hils of evell to become a staitons of lights !!! its could and its will huppen. we all standing
with you and above you Dr Abu al-Aish. love and care again..

Comment by Anahata Love on January 18, 2009 at 12:53am: The Doctor's angelic daughters performed a heroic mission in opening the channel between the hearts of the people on both "sides." When we understand we are all ONE, war will no longer be. I pray that day is now here. Please check out "The Singing Revolution" a movie that has been posted on Youtube. I want to hear a duet sung by the Israelis and the Palestinians, and soon the rest of the world will join in singing too.

Comment by Tree Thunderchild on January 18, 2009 at 12:22am: My message to middle east written days ago on my page dose not need to be repeated here if any look it can be found there.
I mind not if I am crazy for what I speak, nor those who may feel so.
I only mind if what I share is truth. Then the last words from this one were simple "I love you".

If those who fire missiles would understand what U1 shouts just as clearly,
It is not the persons firing those missiles that are the enemy or were his children,
but what is within our brothers that convinces them to......

If we fight each other, we fight the wrong enemy.
May the blood of his daughters be enough to satisfy this thirst for death.
May his children be the last to pay with their lives for what they did not start.
A man of such peace, striving to bring the peoples together, would raise his own children,
to love both Palestine and Israel
would not surprise me in the lease if they did the same as the one I spoke of sent by the creator,
and with both sides on their minds would have said the same thing.
"I love you"
Is this who any would wish to kill?
The enemy is not on any side, but is within our brothers.
killing the patient does little to cure the disease.
May his children be the last.
he did not shout "I hate you"
but "why?!"
That is a seeker the path of love and co-existence...

kill someone who is saying:
" I love you. "

If we fight "each other",
we are fighting the WRONG enemy.

Comment by ana on January 17, 2009 at 11:25pm: My heart is broken about this world, I can`t make judges about it ... I`m not the one
the only thing that I really Iknow is that ignorance is killing our faith our real spirit of union and love
I`m very sorry about the Isralies & Palestins conflict, but in fact in all the world .... the "strongers" are killing, killing, using, manipulating, hurting, ignoring to the weak people.

I`m praying for you ..... and my pray is full for compassion for all of us

love

Comment by Beatrice LATEUR LACROIX on January 17, 2009 at 10:56pm: Compassion and Pure Love for this family, for everyone.
We are One...
Love and peace.

Comment by ivory on January 17, 2009 at 9:50pm: Dr Abu al-Aish is one of hundreds of parents who lost their children in the last 4 weeks in Gaza stripe, I've seen soo many dads, moms carrying their shattered children bodies, covered with their bloods, and trust me I live miles and miles away and I don't think I could ever get over that, let alone their parents. I definetly disagree with u, this war has teared apart our sides even more, for the first time, I feel real anger, bitterness, frustration among my people about what's going in Gaza. What happened in Gaza happened before, and is going to happen again and I'm afraid crying about it doesn't do anything. this war wsn't equal, this war wasn't againt Hamas, it was against palestinians, wether u admit it or not, It was; So far more than 1200 people dies more than HALF of them were children and women, thousands were injurered carrying disabbilities, most awful memories about people they once loved and who no longer exist, who fade away just in seconds over nothing, they r carrying scars that would never heal.
I've always believed in peace, but after what i've seen I don't think it will ever happen in this area of the world, but I trully and sincerelly am thankfull for ur compassion seing people like u gives me some slight hope after i really got depressed about the situation in Gaza.

Comment by Asbjørn-M on January 17, 2009 at 9:33pm: No words can cover this tragedy, not even rivers of tears- but the words (in the blog above) is a hopefully a sign of light in the darkness..

Comment by Daniel and Brenda Moore on January 17, 2009 at 9:10pm: This is so sad, and the doctor was known as a peace activist...

Comment by Farida Magdalena Gillot on January 17, 2009 at 9:01pm: I am crying for all of you. I am with you all and I wish you all the needed strength, healing and mutual understanding and - compassion.
With Love,
Farida