Current:Home > MyAn Israeli airstrike kills 19 members of the same family in a southern Gaza refugee camp -MacroWatch
An Israeli airstrike kills 19 members of the same family in a southern Gaza refugee camp
View
Date:2025-04-18 21:34:07
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The evacuation warning came shortly after dark. The Israeli military fired the shot just a short distance from Nasser Abu Quta’s home in the southern Gaza Strip, a precautionary measure meant to allow people to evacuate before airstrikes.
Abu Quta, 57, thought he and his extended family would be safe some hundred meters (yards) away from the house that was alerted to the pending strike. He huddled with his relatives on the ground floor of his four-story building, bracing for an impact in the area.
But the house of Abu Quta’s neighbor was never hit. In an instant, an explosion ripped through his own home, wiping out 19 members of his family, including his wife and cousins, he said. The airstrike also killed five of his neighbors who were standing outside in the jam-packed refugee camp, a jumble of buildings and alleyways.
The airstrike in Rafah, a southern town on the border with Egypt, came as Israeli forces intensified their bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip following a big, multi-front attack by Hamas militants Saturday that had killed over 700 people in Israel by Sunday night. Hamas also took dozens of Israelis hostage and fired thousands of rockets toward Israeli population centers, although most were intercepted by the country’s Iron Dome defense system.
So far, the waves of airstrikes had killed over 400 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, health officials reported Sunday. There appeared to be several similar deadly airstrikes on crowded residential buildings.
The Israeli military said late Saturday that it had struck various Hamas offices and command centers in multi-story buildings.
But Abu Quta doesn’t understand why Israel struck his house. There were no militants in his building, he insisted, and his family was not warned. They would not have stayed in their house if they were, added his relative, Khalid.
“This is a safe house, with children and women,” Abu Quta, still shell-shocked, said as he recalled the tragedy in fragments of detail.
“Dust overwhelmed the house. There were screams,” he said. “There were no walls. It was all open.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the strike on Abu Quta’s home.
The army says that it conducts precision strikes aimed at militant commanders or operation sites and that it does not target civilians. It also points to its adversaries’ practice of embedding militants in civilian areas throughout the impoverished coastal enclave of 2.3 million people, which is under a under a severe land, air and sea blockade by Israel and Egypt.
But human rights groups have previously said that Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on residential homes display a disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians and argued they may amount to war crimes.
In past wars and rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants, individual Israeli airstrikes have killed great numbers of civilians — for instance, 22 members of the same family in a single strike in a bloody 2021 war.
Abu Quta was gripped by grief Sunday as he prepared for the rush of burials with his two dozen other surviving relatives, including wounded children and grandchildren. Many corpses pulled out from under the rubble were charred and mangled, he said.
While he managed to identify the bodies of 14 family members, at least four children’s bodies remained in the morgue, unrecognizable. One body was missing.
“Maybe we’ll put them tomorrow in a single grave,” he said. “May they rest in peace.”
veryGood! (85867)
Related
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Florida woman charged with leaving her boyfriend to die in a suitcase faces October trial
- Appeals court upholds conviction of British national linked to Islamic State
- Gabourey Sidibe Shares the Special Meanings Behind Her Twin Babies' Names
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Rare highly toxic viper found in Ohio. Here's what to know about the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake.
- Biden says he would not pardon son Hunter if he's convicted in gun trial
- Luka Doncic's NBA Finals debut leaves Dallas guard nearly speechless
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows pleads not guilty in Arizona’s fake elector case
Ranking
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- John Stamos talks rocking through Beach Boys stage fails, showtime hair, Bob Saget lessons
- Drive-through wildlife center where giraffe grabbed toddler is changing rules after viral incident
- Bye, Orange Dreamsicle. Hello, Triple Berry. Wendy's seasonal Frosty flavor drops next week
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- California woman found dead in 2023 confirmed as state's first fatal black bear attack
- This week on Sunday Morning (June 9)
- French Open men's singles final: Date, time, TV for Carlos Alcaraz vs. Alexander Zverev
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Adrien Broner vs. Blair Cobbs live updates: Predictions, how to watch, round-by-round analysis
Manhattan district attorney agrees to testify in Congress, but likely not until Trump is sentenced
Bride-to-Be Survives Being Thrown From Truck Going 50 Mph on the Day Before Her Wedding
Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
Florida Sen. Rick Scott says he’ll vote against recreational pot after brother’s death
2024 cicada map: Where to find Brood XIII, Brood XIX around the Midwest and Southeast
Adrien Broner vs. Blair Cobbs live updates: Predictions, how to watch, round-by-round analysis