I have lost track of the number of days. I had to go back to the previous post to learn that its the end of the 8th day. Today the Ministry of Education announced the results of Tawjihi or 12th grade. It is an important stage in every student’s life as it determines one’s university future. But this year’s Tawjihi results are special for different reasons. Not only have they been announced during the war on Gaza strip, but also many Tawjihi students were not there to celebrate their success, 35 of them! They have been killed by the Israeli attacks. What a feeling a mother must be going through while distributing sweets mixed with her tears to celebrate her martyr son’s success, who will never join any university.

One of the martyrs is Ibrahim who on June 26th, was feeling hopeful and wrote on his Facebook page: “Thanks to Allah today I finished my Tawjihi exams. I wish that Allah will grant me with success, please pray for me and for all the students.” Ibrahim received an overall result of 89%, but Ibrahim will never know.

* This article is originally posted Lives Some Live. – This is a 51 day war account of the how daily lives during the third war on Gaza unfolded one day to the next for its devastated and grieving citizens. This is a heartbreaking nightmare. War is not just the numbers nor the political rhetoric it often masks itself in. In the end, it is about people coming to an abrupt end; and the continuum of life stabbed in the heart. In the end, it is about fear; constant fear, till cease fire is declared.