Gaza War Survivor Recounts Wife's Death on October 7
Translated & summarized from Al-Shams by baba
Hamid Abu Arar, a survivor of the October 7 attacks, recounted the death of his wife, Fatima, who was killed by gunfire while pregnant. He and their infant son were also injured during the incident. Three years later, Abu Arar continues to be traumatized and has left his job to care for their nine children. He directs his anger towards Hamas for the attack.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Hamid Abu Arar's wife, Fatima, was killed by gunfire on October 7 while pregnant.
- Abu Arar and their six-month-old son were also injured in the attack.
- He remains traumatized three years later and visits the site of her death.
- Abu Arar has left his job to care for their nine children.
- He expressed anger towards Hamas for the attack.
Hamid Abu Arar described the ongoing trauma of October 7, three years after the Hamas attacks, recounting how his wife, Fatima, was killed before his eyes. He explained that Fatima, 30 and pregnant, was accompanying him to his agricultural work at Kibbutz Mefalsim due to his driver's license issues when their car was fired upon. Both he and their six-month-old infant son were injured, while Fatima sustained a head wound. Abu Arar recounted that Fatima spoke to him for about two and a half minutes after being shot, asking about the attackers, before succumbing to her injuries approximately ten minutes later.
Abu Arar remained in the area for five hours after the attack before Israeli forces arrived. He then found himself assisting the forces during an ambush, despite his own injuries and shock. He continues to visit the site where his wife was killed, speaking to her memory about their nine children. Fatima was the mother of his nine children and was pregnant at the time of her death, making her loss deeply felt by the family.
The trauma has also affected his infant son, who was present during the attack and continues to receive psychological support for symptoms related to the gunfire and screams he heard, which he associates with his mother's death and his own injuries. Abu Arar has since left his job to focus on raising his nine children, aged approximately 3.5 to 10 years old. He expressed anger towards Hamas for his wife's death but stated he holds no hatred towards any group based on identity, focusing his grievance on the perpetrators of the attack.
