Israel-Iran proxy war leaves young children in Gaza and Lebanon burned from head to toe

Beirut and Gaza — Displaced Palestinians in a tent camp outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza woke up early Tuesday morning to a a blazing inferno after an Israeli airstrike. The flames spread quickly from tent to tent. Civilians who took shelter in the camp said there was only one fire extinguisher to try to put out the fire.

Residents and rescuers rushed to save people from the flames, but they could not save Shaaban Al-Dalou, who was burned alive.

His father Ahmed Al-Dalou also suffered horrific burns, but it was the guilt that was eating him alive when CBS News met with him Wednesday, several days after the strike.

Al-Dalou said that as flames ravaged the camp, he found himself faced with an impossible choice.

“I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I came back to bed the sound of warplanes was loud,” he said.

He ran to find his family, but “I didn’t know who I should try to save.”

“I saw Shaaban sitting down and, even though he was on fire, I thought he might get up and run, so I rushed to save my youngest children… I thought everyone was safe.”

Al-Dalou managed to get his youngest son Abdul Rahman and his sister Rahaf to safety, but Shaaban, who would have turned 20 on Wednesday, and his mother were killed in the fire.

“Today is Shaaban’s birthday,” the grieving father told CBS News. “He’s celebrating his birthday with his mother in heaven.”

Al-Dalou’s other children were being treated for serious burns in a Gaza hospital, ill-equipped to deal with the overwhelming number of victims.

Every day, more and more burn victims, young and old, pass through the doors of hospitals in the Palestinian territory.

Layaan Hamadeen, 13, was among them. She was trying to bring food to her family when she was seriously injured in another recent Israeli strike. From her hospital bed, she told CBS News she just wanted to be a teenager again.

“I want the war to end,” she said. “I want to wear nice clothes and have nice hair again…and I aspire to eat healthy foods like apples and mangoes.”

On Israel’s second front, in its war with Hamas allies Hezbollah in Lebanon, the number of deaths is also increasing. Israeli planes continue to bomb southern Lebanon and, despite US concerns over the bombing campaign in the capital Beirut, a new round of strikes took place around the capital on Wednesday.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, has vowed to strike deeper into Israel after a year of rocket and drone attacks targeting the country. Israel says Hezbollah has launched more than 10,000 weapons since October 8, 2023. Although most have been intercepted, a drone overtook Israeli air defenses about four days ago to strike a military base in the center of the country , killing four soldiers and injuring dozens of other people.

The Israeli military has vowed to continue striking Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon and says it is only targeting the group’s weapons and fighters, but the Lebanese Health Ministry says the strikes have killed more than 2,300 people over the past month and injured around 11,000 others. , and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

CBS News visited Lebanon’s only hospital with a full burn unit this week and found that it had tripled its usual number of beds to cope with the number of injured people.

Like many young people, Hamoodi, 11, seemed unable to take his eyes off his phone. It helped him forget about the burns that covered one side of his body.

The phone is also his only connection to his mother, who was being treated at another hospital. They were both injured in an Israeli airstrike. As he sat there, Hamoodi still did not know that his father and brother had been killed in the attack.

His aunt Jamal Ibrahim said he was asking for them, but she feared the news would be too much for the boy to bear.

The youngest victims of war are particularly difficult to live with for nurse Ali Humaida.

“It’s terrible to see children suffering,” he said, “especially when we can’t do much.”

Already, little Yvana, just 21 months old, has learned to fear men and women in blue blouses.

She is wrapped in bandages that cover severe burns, from head to toe. The slightest touch is excruciating, but dressings must be changed regularly.

His mother, Fatima Zayoun, told CBS News their home was hit by a rocket more than three weeks ago.

“I saw my daughter on fire,” she said.

The mother has been inconsolable since that day.

“I don’t worry about anything,” she said. “I just want her to get better.”

CBS News Marwan al-Ghoul contributed to this report.