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| Gaza 'miracle survivor' Asmaa succumbs to her injuries | Gaza 'miracle survivor' Asmaa succumbs to her injuries |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The BBC's Paul Adams in Gaza reports on the death of a 24-year-old Palestinian woman, Asmaa el-Helou, who despite terrible injuries initially survived an Israeli artillery attack on her home in Shejaiya on Sunday. The strike killed 10 members of her family. | |
| A doctor at Shifa Hospital described Asmaa el-Helou as a "miracle". | A doctor at Shifa Hospital described Asmaa el-Helou as a "miracle". |
| She lay under the collapsed concrete of her uncle's house in Sheja'iya for 12 hours before being rescued. | She lay under the collapsed concrete of her uncle's house in Sheja'iya for 12 hours before being rescued. |
| Her injuries were terrible. She was badly burned and doctors were not sure if they could save her leg. | Her injuries were terrible. She was badly burned and doctors were not sure if they could save her leg. |
| But attached to monitors, ventilated and sedated, she clung to life. | But attached to monitors, ventilated and sedated, she clung to life. |
| "She's strong. She's a miracle," said Dr Ahmad al-Moghrabi. | "She's strong. She's a miracle," said Dr Ahmad al-Moghrabi. |
| But the miracle did not last. Asmaa died on Tuesday night, a few hours after we last saw her. | But the miracle did not last. Asmaa died on Tuesday night, a few hours after we last saw her. |
| 'Hellish subterranean world' | 'Hellish subterranean world' |
| When we spoke again on Wednesday morning, Dr al-Moghrabi acknowledged it was always going to be touch and go. In the end, it was Asmaa's kidneys that failed, a common enough complication after such catastrophic injuries. | When we spoke again on Wednesday morning, Dr al-Moghrabi acknowledged it was always going to be touch and go. In the end, it was Asmaa's kidneys that failed, a common enough complication after such catastrophic injuries. |
| We have singled out Asmaa's story. Her rescue, in the midst of gunfire on Sunday afternoon, was profoundly moving and a moment of high drama. | We have singled out Asmaa's story. Her rescue, in the midst of gunfire on Sunday afternoon, was profoundly moving and a moment of high drama. |
| The first glimpse I caught of her was her blackened, burned right hand, pointing from some hellish subterranean world of shattered concrete and twisted metal. | The first glimpse I caught of her was her blackened, burned right hand, pointing from some hellish subterranean world of shattered concrete and twisted metal. |
| The hand was shaking, and as rescuers bent close, they could also hear that she was making a sound, murmuring incoherently. | The hand was shaking, and as rescuers bent close, they could also hear that she was making a sound, murmuring incoherently. |
| For 12 hours, she must have listened as explosions echoed all around and gun battles erupted. | For 12 hours, she must have listened as explosions echoed all around and gun battles erupted. |
| Before the emergency team arrived, during a shaky afternoon truce, her cousin, Mohammed el-Helou, had tried frantically to get her out. But he and his friends simply could not move the largest concrete block pinning her down. | Before the emergency team arrived, during a shaky afternoon truce, her cousin, Mohammed el-Helou, had tried frantically to get her out. But he and his friends simply could not move the largest concrete block pinning her down. |
| Asmaa was conscious; asking after her family members, and for her friend, Hanan. She said she wanted to see her before she died. | Asmaa was conscious; asking after her family members, and for her friend, Hanan. She said she wanted to see her before she died. |
| What she did not know was that her family was no more. | What she did not know was that her family was no more. |
| Her father, Jihad, and mother, Ciham, were already dead. So were her two brothers, Mohammed and Ahmad, and her two sisters, Najiyah and Tahriya. | Her father, Jihad, and mother, Ciham, were already dead. So were her two brothers, Mohammed and Ahmad, and her two sisters, Najiyah and Tahriya. |
| Ahmad's wife and their three children - Mariam, aged two, and twin boys, Karem and Kareem, aged six months - had also been killed. | Ahmad's wife and their three children - Mariam, aged two, and twin boys, Karem and Kareem, aged six months - had also been killed. |
| Israel describes Sheja'iya as a Hamas stronghold. For three days, it warned the area's 80,000 residents to leave. | Israel describes Sheja'iya as a Hamas stronghold. For three days, it warned the area's 80,000 residents to leave. |
| Some did, but most did not. When Israel's ferocious assault finally came, it was entirely inevitable that large numbers of civilians would die. | Some did, but most did not. When Israel's ferocious assault finally came, it was entirely inevitable that large numbers of civilians would die. |
| The final tally may never be known - they are still pulling bodies out. | The final tally may never be known - they are still pulling bodies out. |
| On Tuesday afternoon at Shifa Hospital there were gruesomely familiar scenes of pandemonium when another corpse was rushed in. | On Tuesday afternoon at Shifa Hospital there were gruesomely familiar scenes of pandemonium when another corpse was rushed in. |
| After three days in the heat, it was badly decomposed. The stench and the screams in Shifa's narrow corridors were almost unbearable. | After three days in the heat, it was badly decomposed. The stench and the screams in Shifa's narrow corridors were almost unbearable. |
| In the burns unit, on Monday, Asmaa's hand was still shaking. As we spoke with her doctor, her badly burned head occasionally shook too. | In the burns unit, on Monday, Asmaa's hand was still shaking. As we spoke with her doctor, her badly burned head occasionally shook too. |
| Outside her room, the hard-pressed staff of the burns unit paused to pray. But some had to break off when a small girl arrived on a stretcher, wailing in pain. | Outside her room, the hard-pressed staff of the burns unit paused to pray. But some had to break off when a small girl arrived on a stretcher, wailing in pain. |
| At Shifa, there is not much time to dwell on a single death. | At Shifa, there is not much time to dwell on a single death. |