Gaza War: An elderly man recounts the tragedy of his family being killed before his eyes
Youssef Khalil pointed to the bullet-riddled and blood-stained walls. He said that two Israeli soldiers entered a room in a school in Gaza, where he was sleeping near his family, and opened fire randomly, killing 9 people, including children.
His account, which the Israeli army says it is verifying, comes after the killing of three hostages fleeing Hamas by Israeli soldiers in Gaza raised new questions about the Israeli rules of engagement, in a war that has proven to be exceptionally deadly to civilians, according to what Reuters reported.
Khalil said that he was taking shelter with his family in early December at the “Shadia” school in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Where some of the fiercest battles took place in recent times. Jabalia camp is located in an area that Israel has asked civilians to leave since October.
Khalil asked: “How do they mutilate my children and my children’s children in front of my eyes?” He said that he was asleep when two soldiers entered the room and shot everyone.
He went on to say that the two soldiers started shooting in every direction, and when they stopped shooting he wanted to leave, but at first they did not allow him to leave the room.
He added that the incident, which he said occurred during an Israeli army raid on Jabalia, ended with the survivors being arrested or fleeing.
He went on to say that when the survivors returned a week later, the bodies were still in their places. Reuters clips from the school, filmed between December 13 and 15, showed destroyed classrooms, at least two bodies on the floor of two people whose ages were not clear, a blood-soaked mattress, bullet holes and bloodstains on the floor.
In response to a question about the incident, the Israeli army said that it was “working to investigate it.”
Israel faced widespread international criticism due to the large number of deaths resulting from its aerial and artillery bombardment of Gaza, in the war that began in October, after the “Islamic Resistance Movement” (Hamas) stormed Israeli towns, killed 1,200 people, and took 240 hostages to Gaza.
The Palestinian health authorities in the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, say that they have confirmed the deaths of about 20,000 people, most of them due to the bombing, and that there are thousands of uncounted bodies under the rubble.
Israel says it is trying to avoid killing civilians in its bombing, and accuses Hamas of hiding among Gaza residents, including in school shelters and hospitals, which has led to more civilian deaths, which Hamas denies.
As Israeli forces penetrated Gaza’s densely populated urban areas this month, attention has increasingly focused on the behavior of its ground forces in a strip of about 2.3 million people.
The killing of three escaped hostages last week by Israeli soldiers, who a preliminary investigation said were waving a white flag, sparked anger among some Israelis, and an admission by officials that the soldiers involved in the killing did not follow the established rules of engagement.
Palestinians wonder how many Gazans were also killed in such events that did not receive attention or investigations following the killing of Israeli citizens.
On Sunday, Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, accused the Israeli army of practicing “terrorist” tactics after shooting two Palestinian Christians who had taken refuge in a church in Gaza. The Israeli army said that there was no truth in shooting them.
During his discussion of the killing of the three hostages, Major-General Herzi Halevy, the Israeli Chief of Staff, said that the IDF does not shoot anyone who surrenders.
Halevy said: “If two Gazans came out waving a white flag to surrender, would we shoot them? of course not. of course not. This is not the IDF. I tell you, for those who are confused about things here, even those who fought us and are now laying down their weapons and raising their hands, we arrest them and do not shoot them.”
The family of Samer Al-Talalqa, one of the three hostages who were shot dead, is demanding answers.
Fouad Al-Talalqa said that the Israeli government has had enough; Because she killed his son.
He continued: “Who wouldn’t be angry if they took your son for 70 days and you didn’t know anything, then they returned him in a bag?”
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2023-12-19 12:23:42
