Palestinian girl describes the moment that airstrikes killed her mother and siblings in Gaza: “I felt nothing. I went completely numb”.
Despite a 10-day ceasefire announced on 16 April, conditions across Lebanon remain deeply challenging. Families continue to move between shelters and homes – the result of continued uncertainty and the fear of having to flee again.

Thirteen-year-old Mona, the sole child survivor from her family, describes how she survived a double airstrike. Screengrab from video: UN Women
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2026/04/who-are-the-women-and-girls-behind-gaza-wars-horrific-casualty-toll

Thirteen-year-old Mona describes how she survived a double airstrike that killed her mother, sister and brother, destroyed her family home, and left her with life-changing injuries. “We were sitting on the sixth floor when they struck the seventh – my uncle’s apartment. My uncle’s wife was screaming, “My children! My children are gone!” As I rushed to help her, they fired the second shell. That’s when my mother and my siblings were killed and my leg was amputated”, says Mona.

“The shell hit them directly. Their bodies weren’t whole – they were in pieces”, says Mona. Mona’s mother and sister are among more than 38,000 women and girls killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, representing on average at least 47 women and girls killed every day.

In the immediate aftermath, Mona’s father was forced to tell her what had happened to the rest of her family. “At that moment, I felt nothing – I went completely numb”, says Mona.