9-year-old boy with both arms amputated due to war: 'How can I hug my mother anymore?'

chiến tranh - Ảnh 1. — Mahmoud Ajjour, 9, lost both arms after being hit by an explosion during the war in the Gaza Strip - Photo: Samar Abu Elouf

The work was taken by Palestinian female photographer Samar Abu Elouf in the capital city of Doha (Qatar). The main character and also a victim of war is only 9 years old.

A haunting portrait of war

Mahmoud Ajjour, 9, was fleeing an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip with his family when he turned back to urge his relatives to hurry up and run, World Press Photo recounted in a statement accompanying the photo.

The boy was then hit by an explosion, the Netherlands-based nonprofit added. One of Ajjour's arms was completely severed, while the other was so badly injured that it had to be amputated.

“One of the hardest things Mahmoud’s mother shared with me was the moment when he first realized his arms had been amputated,” Abu Elouf said. “The first thing he said to his mother was, ‘How can I hug you anymore?’”

Ajjour's mother, Nour Ajjour, recalled that painful moment in a phone interview with NBC News .

“The first few days were really hard. I was in so much pain because there was no anesthesia,” she said. “I looked down at my hands and couldn’t see anything. I screamed, ‘Where are my hands?’ The first thing I said was, ‘How am I going to hold you?’ and ‘How am I going to pray?’”

Ajjour was evacuated from Gaza for treatment in the Qatari capital Doha, where Abu Elouf took the portrait for The New York Times . The photographer also fled to the city.

Thousands of children have lost limbs

Ajjour is one of hundreds of children in Gaza who have lost at least one limb as a result of the war, according to the Hamas-run territory's Ministry of Health.

UNICEF warned in December 2023 that about 1,000 children in Gaza had had one or both legs amputated since October 7, 2023, when Israel began its military campaign in the enclave.

“These numbers are unbelievable,” said Dr. Ahmed Al-Fara, head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Thousands of children have also died, he stressed, many others have lost one or both parents.

Many surgeries on children in Gaza have had to be performed without anesthesia, according to UNICEF, as the health system there has been severely affected by Israel's military campaign.

Meanwhile, Ajjour is learning to live without his hands. The whole family helps him with everything from eating, dressing, to the smallest things. Mrs. Nour Ajjour also shared that her son is learning to use his feet to write and play games on his phone.

Now, Ajjour's dream is to get a prosthetic arm - an increasingly common dream among many children in Gaza.

DAWN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cau-be-9-tuoi-cut-hai-tay-do-chien-tranh-lam-sao-con-om-me-duoc-nua--20250421162846512.htm