In Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza, the cries of an 11-year-old boy named Ahmad pierce the air. “I want my Baba, my Baba, Baba,” Ahmad sobs. His plea echoes through the camp, exposing the profound void left by the murder of his father at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

“Where are you, Baba? Why did they murder you? What crime did he commit?”

People attempt to console the grief-stricken boy but he is beyond consolation: “He promised me to stay alive and not to go. I’m tired. Leave me alone.”

Meanwhile, a few thousand kilometres away in Belgium, another Palestinian boy, 15-year-old Zain, mourns the loss of his father, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa. Zain recounts the tragedy that unfolded on December 15, revealing the cruelty of his father’s murder by an Israeli drone.

After being struck by shrapnel, Samer bled to death for five hours on the grounds of Farhanah, the high school I went to in Khan Younis. Three members of an ambulance team, including my friend, Rami Budeir, who attempted to rescue Samer, were also targeted and killed.

The enormity of the atrocity is etched into Zain’s tearful eyes and face as he speaks about his father. He pledges to pray for him every day. His voice breaks as he sings a song he had written for his dad. “My heart is missing you. Separation tortures me. My heart, after........

© Al Jazeera