A story of survival in Gaza by a 15 year-old girl

Amira al-Girim survived after her father, brother and sister were killed during the fighting in Gaza. The 15-year-old was alone for several days having suffered a badly broken, bleeding leg.

As 15-year-old Amira al-Grim, lies in traction in a hospital bed she gives an account of what took place three or four days ago, she can't remember which. She saw her father killed by an Israeli tank and when her brother and sister ran for help she thinks they were killed in an air strike. As tears ran down her face in a very weak voice and in between sobs she told about being stranded after her father and his friend were killed by an Israeli tank shell. She said, "I looked outside, I found my father's car crushed, and his legs cut off. The floor was covered with blood from my leg." She added, "I got a glass of water, I wanted to fill it with water from the tap, but it fell down on the floor, and then there was blood all over the glass so I couldn't use it. I waited a bit and then I drank directly from the tap. She wanted to leave the house but her father was lying across the door. Amira al-Girim said, "I didn't want to step on him in case I hurt him." She said when she did leave the house she slept in the street for two days and after that went into another house. As the fighting continued to rage near her she struggled some 500m with her leg badly broken and bleeding to find some shelter. She was found alone and bleeding in a house by ABC producer Sami Ziyara and his colleague Imad. The doctors said she had only a few hours left to live when she was found in Imad's house. When she was found she was so weak she hardly knew what her name was. The remaining members of her family thought she had also been killed and had already buried scraps of flesh they thought were hers and had put in a box. After the remaining family members were found Ziyara watched the emotional reunion, Ziyara said, "I can't describe how it was when the mother came to see her daughter. She lost three - her husband, her son and her daughter - when she found Amira, she was almost in a coma. " He added, "Amira is traumatised. She will need treatment forever. Even if they do everything for her, she will never ever be like she was before."