As if an earthquake hit the house of Mohammed Abu Khamash that painted the walls of his house with the blood of his wife and children. Even the toys of his daughter Bayan a year and a half old were scattered all over her small hands. Bayan lost her life along with her mother and her unborn sister for whom the family prepared a new room and bed.
Israeli occupation forces shelled the house of Mohammed Abu Khammash east of Deir al-Balah early Thursday (9/8/2018) morning killing his wife Enas 23 and his daughter Bayan a year and a half old along with an unborn child Enas was pregnant with and causing a huge damage to their house.
The PIC reporter noted that for the first time since the end of the 2014 aggression on Gaza the smell of death coming out of the remains of Palestinians scattered on the walls of the two rooms of the house was felt. Anyone getting inside could hardly bear the smell of death in the house which was turned upside down due to the bombing.
The Israeli forces bombed the house of Abu Khammash during a bloody night which caused his injury by shrapnel all over his body and the killing of his pregnant wife and his only child.
Blood everywhere
Everything in Abu Khamash’s house changed; the room of their coming child was covered with blood which also covered the toys and a new bed the father brought for his child who was never born.
The full story of what happened is told by Khaled Abu Singer who has been at the scene from the very first moment collaborating with some neighbors who have the courage to collect the remains of the torn bodies following the destruction of the house leaving the bedroom covered with blood.
He asserts “We heard the sound of an explosion and we went to the place. When I arrived I was shocked by the sight of scattered bodies and blood everywhere. The fetus came out of his mother’s womb and the bodies of the victims turned into pieces.”
Parts of the victims’ bodies were spotted over the doors of the two rooms as well as the gate of the house which Mohammed the husband was trying to reach.
Sakhr Jabr one of the neighbors confirmed that the bombardment was massive. When a loud explosion was heard he found a shell that penetrated the adjacent mosque and fell over the Abu Khamash’s house.
“The sound of the missiles was loud and when we got there we found the victims’ bodies scattered all over the house. A number of the eyewitnesses were shocked and fainted following what they saw. The houses and buildings of all neighbors were severely damaged.”
The last farewell
Hundreds of residents of the city of Deir al-Balah gathered at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital to participate in the funeral procession.
In front of the reception section at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital Kamel Abu Khammash Mohammed’s father and the grandfather of the victims sat looking at the wooden coffin that included the remains of his son’s wife her daughter and her unborn child.
He told the PIC: “During the Great March of Return my son Mokhtar 23 was shot dead by Israeli snipers. Today my son Mohammed was wounded and lost his entire family. For several days we have been taking care of his pregnant wife who was about to deliver. What happened was a great shock to all of us.”
Dozens of young men carried a wooden coffin of the dead in which they collected the remains of the mother her unborn child and her daughter. A picture of Enas one and a half years old was placed on the coffin. The three were buried in Deir Al-Balah cemetery following prayers on them.
