The Account of the Injury of Hassan Ghabeli Ala’a

Reunion with God

By: Fatemeh Beheshti
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2024-4-24

They say nearly a hundred bags of blood were transfused into me to keep me alive. I am indebted to all those whose blood flows within me. Nevertheless, they have been kind to me and have disturbed me. Those who attained martyrdom and departed, they became heroes and succeeded in the test of life, while those of us who remain must await the next test.

Despite being young, it was the third time I was deployed from the base of Malik Ashtar to the frontline. This time, as usual, I was sent to the 27th Mohammad Rasulolluh (PBUH) Division and then assigned to the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Battalion. After a few days in the battalion, I was assigned as a destructor in Company One, Platoon One. Most members of this platoon were born in 1968 (1347 SH) or 1969 (1348 SH), and there was a special pure and spiritual atmosphere among the group. According to the plan, the guys had to prepare themselves for the upcoming operation. Therefore, we were first sent to a ten-day water and khaki training course. After that, we were transferred to the Karkeh Camp to prepare ourselves in every aspect and enhance our combat abilities for the next operation. There was an intense course with numerous trainings, marches, night combat, etc., and what it seemed was the vastness and grandeur of the upcoming operation.

I remember in one of the night walks at 11 o'clock, we left Karkheh towards the mountains and grooves. Along the way, we rested for a few minutes every hour, but as the column moved in darkness of the night, some lovers were praying the night prayer and others were saying dhikr. This march continued until 2 p.m. in the next day and to when we returned to the battalion headquarters in Karkheh. Alhamdulillah, the guys were at a very high level spiritually. In the mornings, near the call to prayer, maybe I was the last person to wake up and I saw that the night worshipers had formed the first rows of the morning congregational prayers, and were praying and reciting Ziyarat Ashura. Among the comrades, there was no talk of the world and material issues. They just talk about love and the afterlife, etc.

The time of the operation was getting closer and those who were determined to travel and had packed their bags, looked happy and smiling. A few days later, the Cooperation Unit of Division got our bags and personal belongings and took them by the car of the country's Meat Organization, and we also headed to the operational headquarters with buses written on them “a caravan that visit the warfront.” All this was done so that the operation would not be exposed and the enemy would be raided. Finally, they took us to the Karun tactical camp and we were stationed there for a few days until the time of the operation came. Then they took us to Bahmanshir. Finally, after waiting for a long time, the promised moment that is the night of the operation came.

The first phase of Operation Val-Fajr-8[1] began with the code of “Yazhra” and at the very beginning of the operation, the city of al-Faw was captured by Islam fighters. Of course, it was in the second, third, and subsequent stages when the 27^th division took action seriously and actively. In the third stage of the operation, two battalions from the 27th division were supposed to attack the salt factory and capture the missile sites; therefore, we entered al-Faw along with these two battalions as an auxiliary force in order to participate in the war if necessary. Alhamdulillah, those two battalions managed to achieve their goals and therefore there was no need for our battalion to intervene at this stage.

The next day, it was decided that our battalion would carry out the fourth stage of the operation in order to capture al-Faw-Umm Qasr Road. After praying Maghrib and Isha, we moved towards Umm Qasr-al-Faw Road and reached the target point at 9:30 PM. There, it was decided that firstly company 1 would go to the front line, and then the other companies. After a while, the guys started kissing each other on the cheek and asking each other for (religious) forgiveness. It was really clear from smiling faces that who were going to leave us. Be good for them who rushed to their god with a full backpack.

Finally, at 10 o'clock in the evening, we moved towards the point of “liberation” in a column and did a squat walk. We were so close to the Iraqis that we could hear their voices. At 10:30 PM, the fourth stage of the operation began with the holy code of Yazahra (pbuh) and mentioning the names of God. Fortunately, Saddam's presidential guard, made up of trained and strong soldiers was in front of us with more than 200 tanks. According to the information that was obtained later, the members of this command were supposed to attack the next morning and take back the city of al-Faw. Even the division did not have the exact news about this counterattack. It was really an al-Ghayb (unseen) aid that we went to the front line that night, although many died a martyr and were wounded, but the enemy's attack and zone were disordered, and it suffered very heavy casualties, and the guys managed to destroy more than a hundred tanks.

During this operation, I was the platoon courier and RPG operator’s assistant. At the height of the conflict, while we were all advancing and saying Allahu Akbar, we passed several enemy tanks. There was a very intense conflict with a heavy firing. Finally, we stuck to the ground near the fourth or fifth enemy tank and started shooting at the enemy and its trenches.

I had two grenades. I pulled the pin from the grenades; With the remembrance of God, I threw it in one of the enemy's trenches and returned quickly. When the grenade exploded, I sprayed towards that trench with my individual weapon in order to being sure. At the same time, suddenly, I felt my shoulder burned. After a few moments, I realized that a shrapnel had hit my back and it was bleeding. I felt a little weak, so I couldn’t get up and pull myself back. It turned out that three of my friends were martyred due to the grenade explosion, and some shrapnel hit my shoulder and stomach.

After some time, the paramedics came and bandaged my stomach and shoulder, and took me to the relief shed. Then they injected me a painkiller and put me in an ambulance and took me to Arvandrud. While crossing Arvandrud River, I felt the water from the side of the boat splashing on my head and face; on the other side of the river, I was taken by ambulance to “Yazhra” emergency room and after performing emergency medical treatment, I was transferred to Ahvaz. I was conscious until the operating room. Then the anesthesiologist gave me an injection, etc.

When I regained consciousness I realized I was in a c-130 aircraft. After the plane landed, they transferred me to Ghaem Mashhad Hospital. It took a few days for my family to being informed about my condition, and finally, my mother came with one of my sisters who was a nurse to Mashhad. My sister talked to the doctors and asked them to transfer me to Tehran. At first, the doctors had disagreed and said my condition was very bad, and he said I might die on the way. Finally, with my sister's insistence, they sent me to Tehran by plane. As soon as I arrived at Tehran airport, they immediately transferred me to Mehr Hospital.

My condition was very bad and no one expected me to survive. For this reason, one of the best surgeons in the hospital, when he had seen my condition, had talked to my sister and said, “His abdominal wounds are infected and we cannot take him to the operating room at all, and he will not be alive until tomorrow morning.” My sister, who tried to keep my mother unaware, despite being very worried about this matter, she showed a lot of patience.

Finally, the day after that came and I survived by the power of God. The doctor was very surprised that I survived. For this reason, it was decided that if I did not bleed, I would be sent abroad for treatment a few days later. But the night before the flight, heavy bleeding started from my mouth and stomach, and after that, for the second time, the doctors despaired of healing me and saving my life. But unfortunately or fortunately, after some time, I survived until another day as a result of trusting in God and the appeals of my friends to The Fourteen Infallibles. The next day, for the umpteenth time, the doctor had come to my room for a visit and said he can't be sent out at the time because if he bleeds on the plane, he would die. So it is better to keep him here until he recovers and there would be no other option.

I was still in the hospital on Nowruz 1986 (1365 SH) and I was almost recovering. On the second or third day of Eid, heavy bleeding started again from my internal organs. This time I was very bad. As my relatives say my blood pressure was below six and I was in a coma. Immediately several doctors had visited me and said only fresh blood can save me. After this diagnosis and following the broadcast of the news via IRIB about the need for blood, I was saved by the sacrifice of the Hezbollah community and blood donation.

... After a long time when I recovered, and regained my relative health, I returned to the front again. During this time, in addition to being on the war fronts, I got my diploma and now I have decided to continue my studies, God willing.

God, you are a witness, and I remember how well the guys were behind the trenches and in the graves they had dug and how they were with their prayers, lamentations, and cries... Oh God, what did they say to you and how did they talk to you that you let them into your private solitude and left us waiting; waiting for another exam.[2]