The youngest family member killed was Firas, who was only three months old.
The youngest family member killed was Firas, who was only three months old.
Israel has now killed 34 Palestinians over the course of two days amidst the cross-border fighting that has had devastating effects on Gaza. In its most recent attack, Israel killed 8 people of the same family in Deir Al-Balah – targeted while asleep in the early hours of Thursday.
Just hours before an arranged ceasefire, Israel targeted and killed Rasmi Abu Malhous, also known as Rasmi Al-Sawarka, who was a supposed member of the Islamic Jihad, alongside his family members. Killing him and seven other members of his family, Israel has yet again been behind the extrajudicial killings of Palestinians. The youngest family member killed was one of his children, Firas, who was only three months old.
The attack left 12 other members of the same family severely injured, who are still in critical condition at the Shuhhada al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. One of the children, 11 year old Nermin, has been unable to speak since the bombing that killed the majority of her family. 12 year old Noor, who survived the attack, spoke to Al Jazeera:
I hadn’t been able to sleep that night because of the sound of the drones buzzing in the sky above us. When the first rocket fell next to the house, I ran outside. But I was too scared for my life to manage to wake anyone else up. When I gathered enough courage to return, the whole house had become rubble. I could see my mother under it and my dad’s head split and bleeding. But I couldn’t save them.”
The temporary ceasefire that Israel agreed to came into effect at 5:30am, only immediately after Israel had finished killing and targeting Palestinians who were asleep in their homes. The Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab Al-Braim, claimed that the ceasefire was entirely dependent on Israel’s accountability, stating:
The deal included the occupation’s submission to conditions, which is to stop the assassinations, particularly of the protesters in the March of Return demonstrations, and to begin practically the procedures to break the siege. The Islamic Jihad is committed to this truce as long as the enemy [Israel] is committed too. But we will respond to any aggression against our people after consulting with our military factions, and our leadership will reassess the situation in the coming days.”
Since the deaths, hundreds of Palestinians have attended the funerals of the slain family members, carrying black Islamic Jihad flags to the Al-Muhahideen Mosque in central Gaza. As Israel continues to plummet Gaza and kill indiscriminately, it remains to be seen whether Israel will ever be held to account for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.
