Palestinian journalist loses sons, brother after Israel airstrike hits refugee camp
A journalist working in the Gaza Strip mourned the deaths of his four children and brother after Israel launched an airstrike at the Al Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 47 people and wounding dozens, including his wife and infant child.
Mohammed Alaloul, a photographer for the Turkish-run Anadolu Agency news service, was at work when he learned that the refugee camp was hit in an overnight airstrike, the New York Times reports.
With reports coming in of multi-story homes leveled in the area and dead children arriving at a nearby hospital, Alaloul scrolled through the news on his phone until he learned that his family was caught in the blast.
Among the casualties were his children – Qais, Ahmad, Rahaf, and Kenaan.
Three of the children were just four years old.
Alaloul’s wife, Amnah, and their youngest child, Adam, 1, survived the airstrike and were being treated at the Al-Aqsa Hospital. Both were listed in critical condition.
Adam suffered cuts from shrapnel, as did Amnah, who also sustained broken bones and serious burns to her face. Adam was seen being treated in the crowded hallways of the hospital like dozens of others, according to the Times.
Hours after the airstrike, Alaloul was at the hospital leading a funeral prayer near the entrance, still wearing his blue press vest issued to reporters working in Gaza.
He was pictured sobbing as he carried and identified the bodies of his slain children. He was also seen consoling his heartbroken father.
Following the blast in Al Maghazi, an Associated Press reporter saw at least eight dead children, including a baby, when the victims were brought into a nearby hospital after the airstrike.
Arafat Abu Mashaia, a refugee at the camp, condemned the Israeli airstrike, saying the bombs hit a civilian zone where Hamas was not present.
“It was a true massacre,” he said while standing on the wreckage. “All here are peaceful people. I challenge anyone who says there were resistance [fighters] here.”
Israel did not immediately comment on the strikes but has said it has only been targeting areas known to be hiding Hamas terrorists.
