Displaced by Israeli bomb crisis, the Tabatibi family gathered in central Gaza to eat together during the first Friday night of Ramadan, a reunion that soon turned into a bloodbath.
According to a witness report on Saturday, an air strike hit the building where they were staying as women prepared the pre-fasting meal, killing 36 members of the family.
When asked about the strike on Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted two “terror operatives” in Nuseirat “throughout the night”. He didn’t explain further.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident is still being reviewed,” He added.
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Mohammed al-Tabatibi, 19, stood in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies of his relatives were spread out.
“This is my mother, this is my father, this is my aunt, and these are my brothers,” Tabatibi, whose left hand was injured in the strike”, He said amid tears.
“They bombed the house while we were in it. My mother and my aunt were preparing the suhoor food. They were all martyred,” he lamented.
The bodies of the deceased were stacked on a truck and driven to a cemetery.
However, due to lack of body bags, some of the dead –- including at least two children -– were wrapped in white cloth stained with blood.
