'I miss hugging her': Gazan boy, eight, spends nights sleeping on mother's grave

Father says he does not have heart to stop son from going to cemetery near Deir Al Balah, as winter worsens conditions for family

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Eight-year-old Zain Mhanna has spent every night in a cemetery in Gaza since his mother's death two months ago. He rests on her grave, because it is the only way he can still feel close to her.

His mother, Sanaa Mhanna, died from inhaling toxic gas, a day after Israel launched an attack on Nuseirat refugee camp. She was 37 and was undergoing treatment for a kidney condition.

"I miss hugging my mum, that's why I go to sleep on her grave," Zain said. "When I sleep on her grave and kiss it, my heart stops. I feel like my mother enters my heart."

Israel's war on Gaza has taken a harrowing toll on children in the enclave. More than 35,000 have lost one or both parents since the conflict began in October last year, with the violence killing more than 43,400 Palestinians and injuring 100,000, Gaza's health authorities have said. The war began after a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people.

But the true scale of the suffering in Gaza is told through children such as Zain. His father, Youssef Mhanna, told The National that his family went to look for the boy, after discovering he was missing at night.

"We found him at his mother's grave," he said. "She was very attached to him. Zain and her were like two bodies with one soul."

Several people have raised concerns about the boy's safety as he sleeps in the cemetery near Deir Al Balah, where he is vulnerable to Israeli strikes on Gaza or attacks from stray dogs, but Zain believes his mother will protect him. Mr Mhanna said he did not have the heart to prevent his son from going to the cemetery. "How can I take a boy from his mother? How would I stop him? His soul is his mother," he added.

He recalls how Zain, the youngest of four siblings, was so upset about his mother's health issues that he vowed to become a doctor. "He would say, 'When I grow up, I want to be a doctor so I can cure my mother.' My son is deeply affected by her death," Mr Mhanna said. "We try to compensate him for his loss, but a mother cannot be replaced."

No place to call home

The war destroyed the family's home in Gaza city and they were forced to move to the north of the enclave. They were later displaced again to central Gaza and now live in a tent in Deir Al Balah. Their shelter is 500 metres from the cemetery where his wife is buried.

Mr Mhanna explained the tent is too small to fit his four children, brother and four nephews, so he often sleeps outside. "There is nobody that can compensate me, I am sitting in the middle of the street in a flimsy tent made of fabric," he added. "If it rains, we will drown. We have no one besides God."

The onset of winter has made the situation worse. With about 90 per cent of Gaza's population displaced, the family are struggling to find ways to protect themselves from the cold.

Mr Mhanna, who worked as a chef before the war, said his children have outgrown their winter clothes and he has no way to replace them. "What do I do when my son tells me I want clothes? He's older now, it's been a year," he added. "He outgrew his clothes, winter is here and his sweater won't close."

'I refuse to leave Gaza'

Zain dreams of returning to their family home. It holds memories of his mother and he wants to see the places she used to sit, cook and take care of him. Mr Mhanna explained that his son saved two pictures of her on his phone – the lock screen image shows his mother frowning, while the home screen shows her smiling.

He will pick up the phone and pretend to speak to her, asking her not to frown, before unlocking the phone to her smiling back at him. Mr Mhanna said his family feel they are unable to leave the area, because they do not want to move away from his wife's grave.

The desire to remain close to her outweighs any thoughts of looking to escape the enclave. "I refuse to leave Gaza, there is something here that reminds me of Sanaa, something that reminds our children of their mother," Mr Mhanna said.

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