‘They severed my gymnast limbs’: Israeli bombing shatters Gaza teen’s dream

Ahmed al-Ghalban spent nine years training as a gymnast and refused to let 16 months of Israeli war and displacement erase that effort.

Even under bombing and constant expulsion orders, he and his twin brother, Muhammad, kept practising in their makeshift shelter in central Gaza, clinging to their dream of becoming coaches and representing Palestine on the international stage.

But three months after returning to northern Gaza earlier this year, Ghalban sat in a tent at the Islamic University – both legs gone, his twin brother dead, and his future shattered.

“I started gymnastics at seven,” Ghalban, now 16, told Middle East Eye. 

“Muhammad and I trained at a club and school. We progressed fast, started coaching beginners and even performed for foreign visitors. We were meant to perform in Egypt, but the war started before we could go.

“We dreamed of becoming champions and coaches for Gaza.”

Originally from al-Shaimaa in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, Ghalban was displaced seven times before he was wounded, and three more times afterwards.

In March, as the family fled yet again, an Israeli air strike hit them. Muhammad was killed. Ahmed survived, barely

‘Happiest days of life’ 

While displaced in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza earlier in the war, Ghalban and his brother refused to let the bombing derail their training.

Several times a week, they headed to the beach to practise, teach each other, and revisit the routines they had mastered before the war began in October 2023.

“There were air strikes as we trained,” Ghalban recalled, “but my brother and I had a dream, we didn’t want to waste time.”

When the beach was inaccessible, they found quiet alleyways near the camp to continue practising, determined to keep their passion alive amid the chaos.

After a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in late January, more than a million displaced Palestinians were allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

Ghalban’s family was among the first to make the journey back, only to find half their home destroyed and the other half completely burned.

“I was shocked by the level of destruction. I never imagined all those homes would be flattened. Still, we accepted reality, cleaned up, and settled in,” he told MEE.

It took them four days to clear the debris. As soon as they were done, the twins were back training at their club.

The next 50 days of relative calm were, Ghalban said, the “happiest days” of his life with his brother.

“We started a small business, cleaning homes damaged by the bombardment – removing rubble, scrubbing fire stains off the walls.

“Muhammad would get the job and ask me to come along to help and keep him company. We were like one soul.”

‘I watched them sever my legs’

On 18 March, Israel broke the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and launched one of the deadliest bombardments since the start of the war.

Four days later, the Israeli military issued new expulsion orders, calling on residents of northern Gaza – including those in Ghalban’s neighbourhood – to leave once again.

Ghalban, his twin brother Muhammad, their uncle and his six-year-old cousin left on foot, while the rest of the family planned to follow from another location.

‘They cut off the limbs I used to practise gymnastics with. They were the most important part of me’

– Ahmed al-Ghalban, Palestinian teenager

“We carried water jugs and bedding and started walking,” Ghalban told MEE.

After covering around 100 metres, an Israeli shell struck them directly. His uncle and young cousin were killed instantly. Ghalban, seriously wounded and bleeding, tried to sit up and search for his twin.

“I kept asking myself, ‘What did we do? Why?’ We were following evacuation orders, and still, we were bombed.”

He found Muhammad nearby, critically wounded and barely conscious.

“The lower half of his body was severed. My uncle’s body was in pieces. My cousin died on the spot,” he said.

“Still, I never imagined Muhammad would die. We were athletes. I believed no missile could kill us. I kept calling him, asking if he was okay, but he didn’t respond – he was reciting the Quran and praying.”

With ambulances unable to reach the area due to ongoing strikes, a group of young men used a tuk-tuk to transport the wounded to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.

At the hospital, doctors immediately amputated both of Ghalban’s legs above the knee due to catastrophic injuries. Four fingers on his right hand were also removed.

“I was conscious the whole time,” he said. “I watched as they amputated my legs. My family was there, crying, and I saw everything.”

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“They cut off the limbs I used to practise gymnastics with. They were the most important part of me.”

At the time, Ghalban was unaware that his twin had succumbed to his wounds. His family waited 17 days to tell him.

“They brought my friends into the hospital room and then told me. A part of my soul shattered that day,” he said.

According to Unicef, between 3,000 and 4,000 children in Gaza have undergone amputations since the war began, “the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world”.  

The Palestinian Sports Media Union reports that at least 708 Palestinian athletes, including 95 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023. 

More than 270 sports facilities across the Gaza Strip have also been damaged or destroyed.

‘Long way to go’

Ghalban remained in hospital for 65 days until the bombardment intensified again and the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for the area.

“I was terrified,” he told MEE. “I begged my family to get me out. I kept imagining the ceiling collapsing on me while I lay helpless in bed.”

‘All I need now are prosthetic legs, to walk, run, and do gymnastics again. I want to get back to life and follow my dream’

– Ahmed al-Ghalban

Eventually, his uncle responded to his pleas and pushed him into a wheelchair, walking most of the way to the Islamic University in Gaza City.

“When we got there, the rest of my family was still at the hospital and ended up trapped,” Ghalban said. 

“Tanks advanced, and explosive robots were deployed. They detonated something nearby, and just as I’d feared, the plaster ceiling of my hospital room collapsed onto the bed I used to sleep in.”

For nearly two weeks, the Indonesian Hospital has been under relentless Israeli bombardment and siege.

Last week, Israeli forces bombed the dialysis unit before storming the hospital buildings a day later, after medical staff were forced to move patients due to the ongoing blockade of food and water.

With medication and basic healthcare severely limited, doctors urged Ghalban’s mother to help him heal by feeding him calcium-rich foods. But the closure of Gaza’s borders and Israel’s blockade on aid have left the family without access to milk, eggs, or even wheat flour.

Having lost his legs, the very limbs that had once carried him towards his passion and dreams, Ghalban now draws strength from others who have experienced similar loss.

“I watch TikTok videos of people in worse situations than mine,” he said. “Some have received prosthetic limbs and are walking and living normal lives again. That gave me hope.”

Doctors have told Ghalban that prosthetic limbs are not currently available in Gaza. He will need a medical referral and the chance to travel abroad for treatment.

As of March 2025, between 11,000 to 13,000 people, including at least 4,500 children, in Gaza were reported to be in urgent need of medical evacuation, which is blocked by Israel. 

“I know there’s still a long road ahead,” Ghalban said. “But all I need now are prosthetic legs, to walk, run, and do gymnastics again. I want to get back to life and follow my dream, just like those people did.

“And one day, I want to open a gymnastics club to teach children how to jump, and feel free, no matter what’s happening around them.”