Gaza, The Indonesia Post – Fear and panic appeared on the face of Asmaa Al-Najjar, a 10-year-old girl of Palestinian origin, after Israeli warplanes bombed an apartment next to her house in the Tel Al-Hawa settlement area, west of Gaza City.
The girl told Xinhua in a trembling voice that “the Israeli attack took place while I was in the room with my brother, which scared us very much.”
At least 15 people were killed, including a five-year-old girl, two women and seven militants, and 125 others were injured in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday.
In tears, the grandfather of Allaa Qadoum said, “Allaa was playing in front of the house when Israeli warplanes bombed a target in the vicinity and a shrapnel pierced Allaa’s head.”
The gray-haired old man asked, “what mistake did Allaa make to become a target and die? Did he fire missiles at Israel?”
The poor girl was supposed to start kindergarten at the end of this month and had asked to buy new clothes and school bags, she told Xinhua.
Israel has yet to comment on the death of Allaa Qadoum.
Following these intensified air strikes, the streets of the enclave’s towns looked almost empty with no pedestrians and traffic activity, with only fire engines and ambulances passing by.
All cafes and hotels overlooking the waterfront were closed after customers rushed to leave. Commercial activity was almost paralyzed.
Mohammed al-Sa’adi, a resident of the “Falastin” apartment, which was hit by Israeli fighter jets on Friday, told Xinhua that “the bombing happened suddenly without warning while we were still inside the apartment.”
Salama Ma’rouf, spokeswoman for the Hamas-run government in Gaza, told Xinhua that 650 residential units had been destroyed since Friday.
“Israel’s escalation has caused damage to many civilian homes and institutions, which is a clear violation of international law,” he stressed.
Ma’rouf called for the international community to stop “Israeli aggression against Palestinians.”. (ojn/bbs)
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