At 12 an Israeli missile ‘ripped off’ her face. Now Mazyouna is safe in the US – but not all the scars have healed

Mazyouna Damoo, 13, who lost part of her face in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza, with her mother and little sister Tala, five, in El Paso, Texas, where she has been receiving treatment, 1 October. Photograph: Paul Ratje/The Guardian

In June 2024, an Israeli missile struck 13-year-old Mazyouna Damoo’s apartment in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, hurling her and her mother into the street.

Her younger sister, Tala, was pulled from beneath the rubble alive, but her other siblings – Hala, 13, and Mohannad, 10 – were killed instantly. Mazyouna survived, but half of her face was ripped off, leaving her jawbone exposed.