Echoes of Hind Rajab: Gaza Teacher Ghaada Rabah Missing After 72 Hours of Calls for Help
Gaza (QNN)- Palestinian civil defense confirmed on Wednesday evening that its crews returned from Tel al-Hawa without finding teacher Ghada Rabah under the rubble of her destroyed home.
Major Mahmoud Basal told QNN that the teams searched for several hours. “What we saw was a home completely leveled to the ground. We worked for more than an hour, but sadly found nothing,” he said.
According to Basal, Israeli forces allowed civil defense to move toward the Rabah home at around 7 p.m. But coordination was suspended for nearly an hour. The teams reached the area at 9 p.m. “The building was rubble. We searched in vain. We had to withdraw,” he added. Two days ago, Rabah phoned several relatives for help as Israeli forces besieged her home and opened fire.
The tragedy unfolded only a few meters away from the site where six-year-old Hind Rajab was killed earlier last year. Hind was trapped in a car surrounded by Israeli tanks and the dead bodies of her family members. She spent hours on the phone pleading with rescue workers before Israeli forces killed her and bombed the ambulance sent to save her.
In Rabah’s case, the pattern repeated. For two full days, Ghada called for help. The Palestinian teacher, who also worked with AMIDEAST and directed the “Right to Play” foundation in Gaza, pleaded for rescue through relatives and humanitarian groups.
Our QNN colleague, Nour Osama, who knew Ghada Rabah and her important work in Gaza, remembered her as someone who always wore a smile and was loved by all her students.
"Ms. Ghada Rabah would walk into a room and brighten it up with her smile," she said. "She was energetic, sweet and caring. Even when she was under the weather, she would still make her students feel loved. It is sad that she is no longer with us, but she stands as a proof that Palestinians wanted life, and Israel wants death and destruction."
The civil defense sought permission to enter. After 72 hours of waiting and coordination, Israeli forces finally allowed the teams to approach. But by then, the house had been bombed again and flattened completely.
Civil defense members described the scene with despair. “What we saw was a completely destroyed house. We searched and worked for over an hour, but unfortunately found nothing,” one rescuer told QNN.
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The tragedy unfolded only a few meters away from the site where six-year-old Hind Rajab was killed earlier last year. Hind was trapped in a car surrounded by Israeli tanks and the dead bodies of her family members. She spent hours on the phone pleading with rescue workers before Israeli forces killed her and bombed the ambulance sent to save her.
In Rabah’s case, the pattern repeated. For two full days, Ghada called for help. The Palestinian teacher, who also worked with AMIDEAST and directed the “Right to Play” foundation in Gaza, pleaded for rescue through relatives and humanitarian groups.
Our QNN colleague, Nour Osama, who knew Ghada Rabah and her important work in Gaza, remembered her as someone who always wore a smile and was loved by all her students.
"Ms. Ghada Rabah would walk into a room and brighten it up with her smile," she said. "She was energetic, sweet and caring. Even when she was under the weather, she would still make her students feel loved. It is sad that she is no longer with us, but she stands as a proof that Palestinians wanted life, and Israel wants death and destruction."
The civil defense sought permission to enter. After 72 hours of waiting and coordination, Israeli forces finally allowed the teams to approach. But by then, the house had been bombed again and flattened completely.
Civil defense members described the scene with despair. “What we saw was a completely destroyed house. We searched and worked for over an hour, but unfortunately found nothing,” one rescuer told QNN.
