The father of a Palestinian girl who is in Malta for medical treatment after being seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike has described how he and his daughter were almost killed while trying to leave Gaza.

Ashraf Hajras said he and his daughter Selah’s last few days in Gaza were “pure torture”, with the pair attacked by Israeli forces as they tried to exit the Palestinian enclave.

“Even on the last day, when we were at the Rafah border, the Israelis hit the gate and [attacked] the civilians there. We were very close to death,” he told Times of Malta.

“Death follows you everywhere in Gaza. Even when you’re trying to run away, it follows you,” said Hajras.

Selah and her father’s departure through the Rafah crossing marked the end of a horrific ordeal for the family, with the girl sustaining serious leg injuries in an airstrike that killed her mother and 10-day-old brother.

After receiving care at Gaza’s Nasser hospital – which was later knocked out of action following a week-long siege and a subsequent raid by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) – Selah and Ashraf were moved to a tent in the Southern city of Rafah.

There they spent several months before eventually escaping the war-torn Palestinian enclave after paying smugglers to take them out of the country.

While initial media reports said Ashraf had believed Selah dead after being unable to locate her in the aftermath of the strike, he told Times of Malta he had known she was alive but was initially too traumatised to care for his three-year-old while grieving for his wife and son.

Describing the situation in Gaza as “devastating”, Ashraf said Israel’s actions in the region amounted to “ethnic cleansing... a genocide” against the Palestinian population, and that although he recently learned his father was alive, he has had no news about the rest of his family.

“I don’t know how to feel... I have very mixed emotions because although I’m happy my daughter is alive, that I’m alive and can support her, I don’t know anything about my family or the millions of Palestinians now in Gaza that are suffering,” he said.

Mental trauma

Ashraf explained that Selah’s left leg had been “completely dislocated from her body” in the airstrike.

While doctors at Nasser Hospital implanted two screws in her body while treating her injuries, doctors in Malta told him she would need a longer recovery before they attempt further surgical interventions.

But while her leg injuries were treated, Ashraf said his daughter had suffered considerable mental trauma damage.

“Her psychological situation is very unstable; she might be playing, but then you’ll see her staring into the void or screaming for her mother, or just screaming in general,” he said, adding Selah will soon start seeing a therapist.

Her psychological situation is very unstable; she might be playing, but then you’ll see her staring into the void or screaming for her mother, or just screaming in general

During the interview, Ashraf tried to talk to Selah about her life before the attack but as soon as he mentioned her mother, she began to scream and left the room.

However, despite the trauma Selah has been through, her father said she was adapting well to her new life in Malta and was able to play with others and was “more trusting of people than before.”

During the interview, Selah played with balloons and toys, pushed a small pink suitcase around the floor and smiled often.

Selaf suffered from mental trauma following the attack.

Ashraf stressed that despite what she has been through, Selah was a “happy kid”, pointing to her impact on doctors at the Gaza hospital while there for treatment. A video released online by staff at the hospital described Selah as a “source of strength, optimism, and joy”.

Her father said that “even when she was injured, you could see her in the hallways in the hospital, trying to make everyone laugh and smile... and now, she’s receiving all these toys and gifts, it’s making her happier – like all kids”.

Describing the supply of electricity in Malta as “a luxury”, Ashraf said Selah was also enjoying watching videos of animated children’s programme Masha and the Bear on YouTube.

“I’m very grateful to the Maltese people and the Maltese government for making us feel very welcome and making the transition for Selah much easier,” he said. “We both feel at home and [thank] the Maltese people and their generosity.”

‘Politics is what got us into this’

The war in Gaza has raged since October after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages. Gaza health officials on Friday said more than 30,000 people in Gaza have now been killed since the start of Israel’s offensive.

Hamas, a militant group designated a terrorist organisation, emerged as the sole rulers of Gaza after a violent power struggle in 2007.

But with surveys before the war revealing Hamas to be deeply unpopular with Palestinians, and UN experts branding Israel’s military response in Gaza as “collective punishment” for Hamas’ actions, what is the attitude to the militant group among Palestinians today?

“We’re seeing what politics has done to us, so I don’t like politics. I’m not going to get into it after I lost two of my favourite people,” replied Ashraf, referencing the airstrike that killed his wife and son.

“We’ve been living through the Nakba [an Arabic word meaning “the catastrophe” – the violent displacement of Palestinians] for our whole life,” he said.

However, Ashraf stressed he didn’t think the terrorist group was the main issue facing the Palestinians.

“Our problem is not Hamas or whatever faction; it’s the illegal occupation of Palestine and Gaza and the illegal killing of Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

According to an Arab barometer survey carried out before the war, 67% of Gazans said they distrusted Hamas, with 44% saying they did not trust them at all.