Gaza woman blinded in Israeli strike opens bakery to subsist and hope

1 month ago 13

Despite her injury, Warda Abu Jarad has started baking cookies and breadstuff to assistance supply for her family.

Published On 13 Nov 2025

A pistillate successful Gaza blinded successful an Israeli aerial onslaught has opened a bakery to marque ends conscionable and support her hopes for the aboriginal alive, she tells Al Jazeera.

Warda Abu Jarad, 51, is 1 of 170,698 Palestinians who person been wounded successful Gaza since Israel began its genocidal warfare connected the territory successful October 2023.

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Abu Jarad explained that she mislaid her show erstwhile her location was bombed by the Israeli military, causing debris to autumn into her eyes.

“The fume from the bombing blinded maine completely,” she said.

Speaking from a structure successful Deir el-Balah successful cardinal Gaza, the parent told Al Jazeera that she was inactive adjusting to being unsighted and needs idiosyncratic to usher her whenever she wants to determination from 1 spot to another.

“Even erstwhile I privation to determination wrong the tent, I hold for idiosyncratic to assistance maine cross,” she said. “I tried to participate the structure once, deed my caput and fell, … truthful present I consciousness the crushed with my feet to cognize what’s successful beforehand of me.”

Her girl has been her biggest support, she said.

Her blindness has been hard for her to take. “The astir precious happening successful beingness is sight. Every clip I conflict to scope thing I need, I commencement crying,” Abu Jarad said.

Despite specified challenges, Abu Jarad is, similar different Palestinians successful Gaza, trying to rebuild her beingness amid the ruins, ongoing Israeli bombardment, restricted assistance and grief.

“I decided to unfastened a concern to supply for my family. I opened a bakery and started to turn it. I started baking ma’amoul [filled food cookies] and bread,” she said 1 period into a fragile ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas.

“I request to support going due to the fact that the concern present is truthful hard,” she added.

Since the ceasefire came into effect connected October 10, determination person been immoderate tiny improvements successful regular beingness successful Gaza, but the United Nations and NGOs person warned that the magnitude of assistance Israel is letting into Gaza remains wholly insufficient.

Israel claims it has adhered to the truce by permitting introduction to 600 assistance trucks each time portion Hamas says the regular fig is really astir 150.

On Wednesday, Israel said it had reopened the Zikim crossing to the bluish Gaza Strip.

“The opening of nonstop crossings to the northbound is captious to guarantee that capable assistance reaches radical arsenic soon arsenic possible,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said recently.

“All I privation successful beingness is to person my show restored, and I privation to spot my girl arsenic a bride successful her wedding dress. This is my top privation from God,” Abu Jarad said.