8 jan 2009
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While Palestinian freelance cameraman Ashraf Mashharawi was out filming B-roll footage of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, he received a text message telling him to come home right away.
Mashharawi's family's house had been hit by a missile fired, they say, by a pilotless Israeli drone. The blast hit two children playing on the roof of the home, one of them his 12-year-old brother, Mahmoud Mashharawi. Both of them ultimately died. Mashharawi, who is currently working for BBC-4, let the camera run as doctors tried to save his brother's life. Norweigan political activist and professor, Dr. Mads Gilbert, can be seen shrugging in exasperation as Mahmoud dies. |
In the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, it's easy to become desensitized to the images of warfare and bloodshed, but stories like this bring home the human toll of war.
The video above shows the CNN report on the incident, but the Channel 4 BBC report (shown here) gives more background on the incident. Keep scrolling down for more images of the conflict. Just as a warning, some of these can get pretty graphic.
The video above shows the CNN report on the incident, but the Channel 4 BBC report (shown here) gives more background on the incident. Keep scrolling down for more images of the conflict. Just as a warning, some of these can get pretty graphic.
In this handout image provided by the GPO (Israeli Government Press Office), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits an IDF base, January 8, 2009 in an undisclosed location in Southern Israel. According to reports at least four rockets were today fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, injuring four people and raising fears that the conflict is spreading. Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on the region as international negotiations for a ceasefire continue.
A wounded Palestinian man is carried as he arrives at the Al-shifa hospital, after an Israeli air strike on January 8, 2009 in the Hamas-ruled territory of Gaza Strip. According to reports at least four rockets were today fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, injuring four prople and raising fears that the conflict is spreading. Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on the region as international negotiations for a ceasefire continue.
A Palestinian man rushes into the Al-shifa hospital as he carries a wounded child, after an Israeli air strike on January 8, 2009 in the Hamas-ruled territory of Gaza Strip. According to reports at least four rockets were today fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, injuring four prople and raising fears that the conflict is spreading. Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on the region as international negotiations for a ceasefire continue.
Palestinians inspect the damaged at al-Taqwa mosque, after an Israeli air strike, , January 8, 2009 in Gaza, Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft continue to bomb targets across the Hamas-ruled territory of Gaza Strip. According to reports at least four rockets were today fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, injuring four prople and raising fears that the conflict is spreading. Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on the region as international negotiations for a ceasefire continue.
Colleagues of Israeli army Staff Sgt. Alex Mashavisky who died during combat in Gaza mourn over his grave during his funeral on January 07, 2009 in Beer Sheva, Israel. International calls on Israel and Hamas to introduce a renewed ceasefire deal have increased following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
A wounded Palestinian youth is carried after an Israeli air strike as he arrives at the Al-Shifa hospital on January 7, 2009 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
International calls on Israel and Hamas to introduce a renewed ceasefire deal have increased following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
International calls on Israel and Hamas to introduce a renewed ceasefire deal have increased following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
A woman inspects a damaged house that was bombed by Israeli military yesterday near a UN-run school building on Janaury 7, 2009 in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
An Israeli attack killed at least 42 people who had sought shelter in the UN-run building after they fled their homes at the Jabalia refugee camp.
The United Nations has denied Israeli army allegations that militants were inside the school compound.
An Israeli attack killed at least 42 people who had sought shelter in the UN-run building after they fled their homes at the Jabalia refugee camp.
The United Nations has denied Israeli army allegations that militants were inside the school compound.
Palestinians pray over the bodies of 42 people who were killed yesterday in an Israeli attack on a UN-run school building, on Janaury 7, 2009 in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, An Israeli attack killed at least 42 people who had sought shelter in the UN-run building after they fled their homes at the Jabalia refugee camp.
The United Nations has denied Israeli army allegations that militants were inside the school compound
The United Nations has denied Israeli army allegations that militants were inside the school compound
An Israeli soldier raises his arms as a mobile artillery unit fires a shell into Gaza before the commencement of a temporary cease fire on January 7, 2009 along the Israeli, Gaza border in Israel.
Israel has agreed to a daily three hour cease fire in order to open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
Israel has agreed to a daily three hour cease fire in order to open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
Members of the media report on the fighting between Israel and Hamas January 7, 2009 along the Israeli, Gaza border in Israel.
Despite protests and condemnation, Israel has imposed a ban on international journalists from entering into Gaza.
Despite protests and condemnation, Israel has imposed a ban on international journalists from entering into Gaza.
A Palestinian man injured in an Israeli air strike receives assistance on January 7, 2009 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip .
International calls on Israel and Hamas to introduce a renewed ceasefire deal have increased following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
International calls on Israel and Hamas to introduce a renewed ceasefire deal have increased following a day of significant conflict and an increasing death toll.
GAZA: 8 January
Every day brings news of more deaths for Hatem Shurrab
While I was writing this diary entry I received news that a Palestinian family had been killed in the northern Jabaliya refugee camp after their house was bombed.
Jabaliya is home to an estimated 125,000 people and is the most densely populated camp in Gaza.
They were a father, mother and son from the Aljaro family. Other members of the family had been injured.
But the news got worse: the father was the brother of my Islamic Relief colleague Alaa.
I tried to reach Alaa to check he was OK and pay my condolences but couldn't get through to him on the phone.
I finally received news that Alaa was OK. But what do I say to him when I see him?
Every day that passes brings more and more bad news and with every passing hour the human misery increases.
One minute we hear news that five people have been killed in a certain neighbourhood, then a few minutes later we receive more news that people have been killed in a different area.
It seems like Gazans are just becoming numbers.
Gazans are not just numbers, Gazans are very kind people who love life and love others.
Orphaned children
Every child that has died enjoyed playing, like other children across the world.
Every child that died had a family that loved them dearly.
Our aid team also learnt today that the fathers of three of the children in our Psychosocial Support program had been killed.
They are now orphans.
Islamic Relief runs a project with Gazan children who have been traumatised by conflict. It is funded by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD).
Two thousand children are involved in the project, which aims to help youngsters deal with their loss and provide them with support and care.
I wonder what effect this conflict and losing their fathers will have on those three children in the long term.
One thing is for sure, when the bombing ends - and we pray for it to end now - this project will need to be one of our priorities.
Poor shelters
I've met a lot of children over the past 12 days and I can see the fear in their eyes.
The state of the shelters in which people are seeking refuge is dire.
There is no electricity, and no fuel for cooking. Neither is there any kind of heating to keep people warm in these cold winter nights.
The good news is that our relief teams continued with our distribution to three UN shelters, supplying people with hygiene kits and blankets.
We also prepared a list of medicines desperately needed by Gazan hospitals and are now working on trying to purchase the medication inside Gaza and co-ordinate the purchasing of aid from outside Gaza and work out how to get it into Gaza.
While I was writing this diary entry I received news that a Palestinian family had been killed in the northern Jabaliya refugee camp after their house was bombed.
Jabaliya is home to an estimated 125,000 people and is the most densely populated camp in Gaza.
They were a father, mother and son from the Aljaro family. Other members of the family had been injured.
But the news got worse: the father was the brother of my Islamic Relief colleague Alaa.
I tried to reach Alaa to check he was OK and pay my condolences but couldn't get through to him on the phone.
I finally received news that Alaa was OK. But what do I say to him when I see him?
Every day that passes brings more and more bad news and with every passing hour the human misery increases.
One minute we hear news that five people have been killed in a certain neighbourhood, then a few minutes later we receive more news that people have been killed in a different area.
It seems like Gazans are just becoming numbers.
Gazans are not just numbers, Gazans are very kind people who love life and love others.
Orphaned children
Every child that has died enjoyed playing, like other children across the world.
Every child that died had a family that loved them dearly.
Our aid team also learnt today that the fathers of three of the children in our Psychosocial Support program had been killed.
They are now orphans.
Islamic Relief runs a project with Gazan children who have been traumatised by conflict. It is funded by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD).
Two thousand children are involved in the project, which aims to help youngsters deal with their loss and provide them with support and care.
I wonder what effect this conflict and losing their fathers will have on those three children in the long term.
One thing is for sure, when the bombing ends - and we pray for it to end now - this project will need to be one of our priorities.
Poor shelters
I've met a lot of children over the past 12 days and I can see the fear in their eyes.
The state of the shelters in which people are seeking refuge is dire.
There is no electricity, and no fuel for cooking. Neither is there any kind of heating to keep people warm in these cold winter nights.
The good news is that our relief teams continued with our distribution to three UN shelters, supplying people with hygiene kits and blankets.
We also prepared a list of medicines desperately needed by Gazan hospitals and are now working on trying to purchase the medication inside Gaza and co-ordinate the purchasing of aid from outside Gaza and work out how to get it into Gaza.
ei: Too much to mourn in Gaza
The Deeb family was preparing bread when they were killed in their home by Israeli shelling.
After finishing a shift with the Palestine Red Crescent Society yesterday morning, we went to the United Nations-administered al-Fakhoura school in Jabaliya, which was bombed by Israeli forces, killing at least 40 displaced people who were taking shelter there. When we arrived, prayers were happening in the street in front of the school. I’d seen prayers in open, outdoor places in Palestine and Egypt.
But these days, when I see a mass of people praying, in front of al-Shifa hospital, in the streets of Jabaliya, I think of the mosques that have been bombed, and of the loss of lives and sanctuaries. And yesterday I thought of the loss of another safe haven. The grief was very evident, as was the indignation: “Where are we supposed to stay,” one man demanded. “How many deaths is enough? How many?” It’s the question that has resounded in my mind since the attacks on 27 December.
Across Fakhoura street from the school, about 15 meters down a drive, a gaping hole in the Deeb family house revealed what had been happening when it was hit by a shell. Rounds of bread dough lay where they’d been rolled out to bake. Amal Deeb was in her 30s, a surviving family member told us. When the missile struck, it killed her and nine others in the extended family’s house, including two boys and three girls. Another four were injured, one having both legs amputated.
Approaching the house, the stench of blood was still strong, and was visible in patches and pools amid the rubble of the room. Later, in Jabaliya’s Kamal Adwan hospital, 19-year-old Ahlam lay conscious but unsmiling, unresponsive. The woman at her side explained her injuries: shrapnel lacerations all over her body, and deeper shrapnel injuries in her stomach. Ahlam didn’t know nine of her family members were killed.
After finishing a shift with the Palestine Red Crescent Society yesterday morning, we went to the United Nations-administered al-Fakhoura school in Jabaliya, which was bombed by Israeli forces, killing at least 40 displaced people who were taking shelter there. When we arrived, prayers were happening in the street in front of the school. I’d seen prayers in open, outdoor places in Palestine and Egypt.
But these days, when I see a mass of people praying, in front of al-Shifa hospital, in the streets of Jabaliya, I think of the mosques that have been bombed, and of the loss of lives and sanctuaries. And yesterday I thought of the loss of another safe haven. The grief was very evident, as was the indignation: “Where are we supposed to stay,” one man demanded. “How many deaths is enough? How many?” It’s the question that has resounded in my mind since the attacks on 27 December.
Across Fakhoura street from the school, about 15 meters down a drive, a gaping hole in the Deeb family house revealed what had been happening when it was hit by a shell. Rounds of bread dough lay where they’d been rolled out to bake. Amal Deeb was in her 30s, a surviving family member told us. When the missile struck, it killed her and nine others in the extended family’s house, including two boys and three girls. Another four were injured, one having both legs amputated.
Approaching the house, the stench of blood was still strong, and was visible in patches and pools amid the rubble of the room. Later, in Jabaliya’s Kamal Adwan hospital, 19-year-old Ahlam lay conscious but unsmiling, unresponsive. The woman at her side explained her injuries: shrapnel lacerations all over her body, and deeper shrapnel injuries in her stomach. Ahlam didn’t know nine of her family members were killed.
Gazans are united in mourning.
Returning to the street in front of the Fakoura school, mourners had gathered, ready to march, to carry the dead and their pieces to their overcrowded resting place. Flags of all colors mixed in this funeral march: no one party dominated, it was collective grief under collective punishment. |
So many people had joined the procession through the narrow streets that the funeral split, taking different streets, to reach the cemetery. At the entrance to the cemetery, decorated cement slabs mark the older graves, laid at a time when cement and space were available. The most recently buried bodies, instead, show in sandy humps, buried just low enough to be covered but not properly so. Cement blocks mark some graves, leaves and vines on others. And some were just barely visible, by the raise in earth. But it was too packed, too hard to estimate where a grave might be, no possibility of a respectfully-spaced arrangement.
“Watch where you step,” Mahmoud, a friend, told me, pointing to a barely-noticeable grave of a child.
The enormity of the deaths hit me. After 12 days of killing and psychological warfare, I’d become less shocked at the sight of pieces of bodies, a little numb, like a doctor might, or a person subjected to this time and again. I was and I remain horrified at the ongoing slaughter, at the images of children’s bodies being pulled from the rubble astonished it could continue — but adapted to the fact that there would be bodies, maimed, lives ruined.
I stood among sandy makeshift graves, watching men digging with their hands, others carrying corpses on any plank long enough — corrugated tin, scraps of wood, stretchers — to be hastily buried. As the drones still flew overhead and tank shelling could be heard 100s of meters beyond, it all become too much again. I wept for all the dead and the wounded psyches of a people who know their blood flows freely and will continue to do so.
“Watch where you step,” Mahmoud, a friend, told me, pointing to a barely-noticeable grave of a child.
The enormity of the deaths hit me. After 12 days of killing and psychological warfare, I’d become less shocked at the sight of pieces of bodies, a little numb, like a doctor might, or a person subjected to this time and again. I was and I remain horrified at the ongoing slaughter, at the images of children’s bodies being pulled from the rubble astonished it could continue — but adapted to the fact that there would be bodies, maimed, lives ruined.
I stood among sandy makeshift graves, watching men digging with their hands, others carrying corpses on any plank long enough — corrugated tin, scraps of wood, stretchers — to be hastily buried. As the drones still flew overhead and tank shelling could be heard 100s of meters beyond, it all become too much again. I wept for all the dead and the wounded psyches of a people who know their blood flows freely and will continue to do so.
The dead are hastily buried
Hatem, the other day, told me to be strong as Palestinians, for Palestinians. And I try, though each day brings assassinations no one could have imagined. Out of touch with all the other fragmented areas of Gaza, I read of the Samuni family and see photos of a baby girl pulled from the rubble of a house shelled by an Israeli warplane. |
Mohamed, a photojournalist, has photographed many of those killed in Israel’s bombings of houses. And today Hatem crumbled, though he is strong. It’s all too much.
Nidal, a Palestine Red Crescent Society medic, told how he was at the Fakhoura school when it was shelled. His aunt and uncle live nearby and he’d been visiting friends at the school. “I was there, talking with friends, only a little away from where two of the missiles hit. The people standing between me and the missiles were like a shield. They were shredded. About 20 of them,” he said.
Nidal, a Palestine Red Crescent Society medic, told how he was at the Fakhoura school when it was shelled. His aunt and uncle live nearby and he’d been visiting friends at the school. “I was there, talking with friends, only a little away from where two of the missiles hit. The people standing between me and the missiles were like a shield. They were shredded. About 20 of them,” he said.
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Like many Palestinians I’ve met, Nidal has a prior history of loss, even before this latest phenomenal assault on civilians. Only 20 years old, Nidal has already had his father and brother killed, martyred it is said here, by sniper’s bullets. His right hand testifies his part in the story: “Three years ago, the Israeli army had invaded our region [Jabaliya].
One soldier threw a sound bomb at us and I picked it up to throw away. It went off in my hand before I could throw it away.” Sound bombs are used against nonviolent demonstrations against Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank villages of Bilin and Nilin, and many youths learn at a young age how to chuck them away. But Nidal’s stubs of fingers show that he wasn’t so lucky. However, he is luckier than his father and brother. And luckier than two of his cousins, his aunt’s sons, who were in the area where missiles were dropped at the UN school. They, 12 and 27 years old, were killed. |
Osama gave his testimony as a medic at the scene after the multiple missile shelling. “When we arrived, I saw dead bodies everywhere. More than 30. Dead children, grandparents … Pieces of flesh all over. And blood. It was very crowded, and difficult to carry out the injured and martyred. There were also dead animals among the humans. I helped carry 15 dead. I had to change my clothes three times. These people thought they were safe in the UN school, but the Israeli army killed them, in cold blood,” he said.
Mohammed K., a volunteer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, was elsewhere when the UN safe haven was shelled. “We were in Jabaliya, at the UN ‘G’ school, to interview the displaced people taking shelter there. We wanted to find out how many people were staying there, where they’d left from and why exactly, and how safe they felt in the school. While we were there, we heard the explosions, saw the smoke, and wondered what had been hit. It was Fakhoura.”
All images copyright Eva Bartlett.
Eva Bartlett is a Canadian human rights advocate and freelancer who spent eight months in 2007 living in West Bank communities and four months in Cairo and at the Rafah crossing. She is currently based in the Gaza Strip after having arrived with the 3rd Free Gaza Movement boat in November. She has been working with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza, accompanying ambulances while witnessing and documenting the ongoing Israeli air strikes and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed K., a volunteer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, was elsewhere when the UN safe haven was shelled. “We were in Jabaliya, at the UN ‘G’ school, to interview the displaced people taking shelter there. We wanted to find out how many people were staying there, where they’d left from and why exactly, and how safe they felt in the school. While we were there, we heard the explosions, saw the smoke, and wondered what had been hit. It was Fakhoura.”
All images copyright Eva Bartlett.
Eva Bartlett is a Canadian human rights advocate and freelancer who spent eight months in 2007 living in West Bank communities and four months in Cairo and at the Rafah crossing. She is currently based in the Gaza Strip after having arrived with the 3rd Free Gaza Movement boat in November. She has been working with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza, accompanying ambulances while witnessing and documenting the ongoing Israeli air strikes and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
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The Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza has been severe and targeted mainly at civilian areas, leaving scores of people homeless. ISM volunteers filmed this video in Rafah showing the aftermath of the bombing. The translation was done by The Guardian.
This video was shot on Thursday, January 8, 2009 in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The Israeli bombing campaign has been severe and targeted mainly at civilian areas, leaving scores of people homeless.
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Children under fire
According to news reports, over 665 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed,and more than 2950 injured. Of those, more than 214 children and more than 88 women were killed. This is the story of two of those children.
January 2, 2008 Al Qarara, Khan Yunis - According to Mahmud Mosa Alstal, 27 years old, the children`s uncle, “I was sitting down in the building.
The children were playing 40 meters away from me, and they were 500 meters away from their house. I could hear the drone (Israeli unmanned drone). I thought it would attack one of the police stations or one of the government sites. I looked at it. Suddenly the drone fired a rocket.
I told myself it was close. It could be targeting a car nearby. But when I ran there to investigate, I ran first to the place where the children were playing. I was shocked when I saw the three children on the ground. The head of Abed Alsatar, who was nine years-old, flew far away from the place, and also Abed Rabo nine years-old and his brother Mohammed 12 years-old were hit.
I called other people to come and help me to take them to the hospital. When they saw the scene, they also were shocked and they left. I stopped a car passing by and I took them to the hospital, it was difficult for the ambulance to get there because the attack just happened and the area was hard to reach. You know that four of the children’s uncles were killed, not during this attack, but in the last few years, also by the Israeli army. What can I say. They went to see their uncles in heaven. They are together now.”
30 year-old Um Mohammed, the mother of Abed Rabo and Mohammed told us,”They were playing. They didn’t do any thing wrong. Mohammed was in fifthgrade. The first exam started Saturday, when the first and biggest attack happened throughout the Gaza Strip. The didn’t even take the exam. Today they took their lunch and went to the mosque to pray and then to play. They went to play in an empty piece of land nearby. Suddenly a drone missile hitt hem.”
“Mohammed was helpful. He helped me a lot. He was the oldest of my sons.Yesterday, I was telling them the story of our prophet Ibrahim, who God asked to sacrifice his son Ishmael. I found them telling me the next part of the story and telling me the end. They knew it.”
“They loved playing football. They played together most of the time in the playground when they were playing football.”
“I used to call Abed Rabo, Abood. But Mohammed, we called him Mohammed.They just had their lunch. Mohammed asked if he could do anything for me before he went out. I asked him to put the teapot on the fire before he left because we have no gas. He put it on the fire and put in the tea and the sugar. The tea even didn’t boil before I got the news that Mohammed was killed, and he is a martyr now.”
“The last joke that Mohammed told before he was killed, he told me and his dad about one of our neighbors. He’s a short man. He made a tent, short like him. He just made it for himself and not for other people. If a tall person wanted to visit, he would have to stoop. But they are children and short still. They can get inside.”
“God’s mercy be upon you Mohammed. I will miss you a lot. Abed too used tohelp me a lot. He used to help me when I was cooking, starting the fire with me. Today he woke up this morning, and he told me that breakfast was ready. And I found he made the tea too. He used to wake up early, everyday, starting the fire to make breakfast.”
“We want the other nations to stand side by side with us. They can’t stop the Israelis? They can stop them, but they don’t because its not their sake to stop them.”
We just look for Allah and wait for Allah to help us. Let them take their time and watch us and to see the children’s blood. I lost two of my children, but 11 children and their parents were killed from Alrayan family yesterday. I’m not better than them. I just lost two children.”
“My children were upset and felt pain when they saw what happened to the other children during the Israeli attack on Saturday. I used to change the channel and wouldn’t let them see the other children’s dead bodies so as to not scare them. I didn’t like them to see these scenes because it will effect them, Mohammed didn’t sleep all night. When they had exams, they wouldn’t try to wake me up in the morning. They would get dressed and go to school early, because they were thinking that if they went early they would come back early to play.”
“This morning I told my little daughter to wash her face. She said to me,did I sleep enough to need to wash my face? All night they don’t sleep because of the bombing and the air-strikes. What have we done for the Israelis to attack us like that! Tell me what we have done?”
“We are nine in the family, I have five daughters and three sons, I lost two and now we are seven including me and their Dad.”
“It’s true that I lost two of my sons but when I see other people’s misery I feel that my misery is small.”
“I’m like any person living here. I could die any night, killed by an Israeli attack. They just attack the area. I could be killed, who knows. I will die today or tomorrow or now. All the Palestinians here are threatened. I say every day, tomorrow I could die.”
“They want us to leave our homes, but it is in their dreams. They are wrong. We will not leave our homes. We will always stay here. It will not be like the 1948 war. We will stay in our homes, and we prefer to die in our homes. It’s an honor to die in our country rather than to escape. They will not evacuate our land and take it. They occupied our land and they came to us. Why did they come to us? We didn’t go to their homes but they came to ours. I don’t know what they want from the Palestinian people, or why they occupied us? We are strong in our faith, and God will always help us.”
January 2, 2008 Al Qarara, Khan Yunis - According to Mahmud Mosa Alstal, 27 years old, the children`s uncle, “I was sitting down in the building.
The children were playing 40 meters away from me, and they were 500 meters away from their house. I could hear the drone (Israeli unmanned drone). I thought it would attack one of the police stations or one of the government sites. I looked at it. Suddenly the drone fired a rocket.
I told myself it was close. It could be targeting a car nearby. But when I ran there to investigate, I ran first to the place where the children were playing. I was shocked when I saw the three children on the ground. The head of Abed Alsatar, who was nine years-old, flew far away from the place, and also Abed Rabo nine years-old and his brother Mohammed 12 years-old were hit.
I called other people to come and help me to take them to the hospital. When they saw the scene, they also were shocked and they left. I stopped a car passing by and I took them to the hospital, it was difficult for the ambulance to get there because the attack just happened and the area was hard to reach. You know that four of the children’s uncles were killed, not during this attack, but in the last few years, also by the Israeli army. What can I say. They went to see their uncles in heaven. They are together now.”
30 year-old Um Mohammed, the mother of Abed Rabo and Mohammed told us,”They were playing. They didn’t do any thing wrong. Mohammed was in fifthgrade. The first exam started Saturday, when the first and biggest attack happened throughout the Gaza Strip. The didn’t even take the exam. Today they took their lunch and went to the mosque to pray and then to play. They went to play in an empty piece of land nearby. Suddenly a drone missile hitt hem.”
“Mohammed was helpful. He helped me a lot. He was the oldest of my sons.Yesterday, I was telling them the story of our prophet Ibrahim, who God asked to sacrifice his son Ishmael. I found them telling me the next part of the story and telling me the end. They knew it.”
“They loved playing football. They played together most of the time in the playground when they were playing football.”
“I used to call Abed Rabo, Abood. But Mohammed, we called him Mohammed.They just had their lunch. Mohammed asked if he could do anything for me before he went out. I asked him to put the teapot on the fire before he left because we have no gas. He put it on the fire and put in the tea and the sugar. The tea even didn’t boil before I got the news that Mohammed was killed, and he is a martyr now.”
“The last joke that Mohammed told before he was killed, he told me and his dad about one of our neighbors. He’s a short man. He made a tent, short like him. He just made it for himself and not for other people. If a tall person wanted to visit, he would have to stoop. But they are children and short still. They can get inside.”
“God’s mercy be upon you Mohammed. I will miss you a lot. Abed too used tohelp me a lot. He used to help me when I was cooking, starting the fire with me. Today he woke up this morning, and he told me that breakfast was ready. And I found he made the tea too. He used to wake up early, everyday, starting the fire to make breakfast.”
“We want the other nations to stand side by side with us. They can’t stop the Israelis? They can stop them, but they don’t because its not their sake to stop them.”
We just look for Allah and wait for Allah to help us. Let them take their time and watch us and to see the children’s blood. I lost two of my children, but 11 children and their parents were killed from Alrayan family yesterday. I’m not better than them. I just lost two children.”
“My children were upset and felt pain when they saw what happened to the other children during the Israeli attack on Saturday. I used to change the channel and wouldn’t let them see the other children’s dead bodies so as to not scare them. I didn’t like them to see these scenes because it will effect them, Mohammed didn’t sleep all night. When they had exams, they wouldn’t try to wake me up in the morning. They would get dressed and go to school early, because they were thinking that if they went early they would come back early to play.”
“This morning I told my little daughter to wash her face. She said to me,did I sleep enough to need to wash my face? All night they don’t sleep because of the bombing and the air-strikes. What have we done for the Israelis to attack us like that! Tell me what we have done?”
“We are nine in the family, I have five daughters and three sons, I lost two and now we are seven including me and their Dad.”
“It’s true that I lost two of my sons but when I see other people’s misery I feel that my misery is small.”
“I’m like any person living here. I could die any night, killed by an Israeli attack. They just attack the area. I could be killed, who knows. I will die today or tomorrow or now. All the Palestinians here are threatened. I say every day, tomorrow I could die.”
“They want us to leave our homes, but it is in their dreams. They are wrong. We will not leave our homes. We will always stay here. It will not be like the 1948 war. We will stay in our homes, and we prefer to die in our homes. It’s an honor to die in our country rather than to escape. They will not evacuate our land and take it. They occupied our land and they came to us. Why did they come to us? We didn’t go to their homes but they came to ours. I don’t know what they want from the Palestinian people, or why they occupied us? We are strong in our faith, and God will always help us.”
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Days: Jan 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Dec 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27