Jihan Elhelw’s family was one of these families who was out of gas and was pushed to use the kerosene streamer. In the morning of January 12th, Jihan’s mother ‘Om Jihad’ was inflaming the streamer to prepare food for her children. Jihan was sitting close to her, helping her in the kitchen. At that moment, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft attacked the house area with a number of missiles. A fragment of these missiles hit the kerosene streamer; it blasted causing terrible burns in Jihan’s limbs since she was very close to the kerosene streamer.

Jihan was carried to the hospital immediately. Throughout the first three days, her condition was stable, but on the fourth day, she deteriorated to the extent that the doctors decided to make an operation. The percentage of blood started to decrease rapidly, accompanied with a big increase in her temperature and severe infections all over her breast. The surgery was done, but her condition was getting worser. Jihan passed away on the 18th of January after suffering for six days in the intensive care.

The doctors announced that Jihan died due to blood poisoning caused by the deep burns in her body in addition to severe infections in her chest as a result of breathing in so much fire smoke.

Jihan passed away, leaving her room empty with the exception of some poems that she wrote on the door of her room.

Her mother describes her relationship with her daughter with a crying voice: “She was like a friend to me. I was her secrets’ keeper. Whenever she felt depressed, she came and told me about everything bothering her. I was always giving her advices, guiding her to the right direction…"

Jihan was always obedient to her mother. She often took the responsibility of the house duties, having mercy upon her beloved mother, who is suffering from Osteomalacia, bones’ fragility, which prevents her from doing home chores.

Her Dreams:
Jihan was a tender child, was very superior in different fields. Academically, she was an outstanding student at school. Religiously, she was always keen to pray in the nearest mosque to her house, where she learned the Holy Qur'an. 

She loved poems so much, wrote some, and memorized many of the great poems of the famous late poet Mahmoud Darwish. She had a dream to be like Darwish one day. She also dreamed to finish her school to be a professional journalist writing about her people’s sorrows; expressing their hopes and pains. 

But she went before all these dreams came true, neither her dreams nor her people’s dreams.