GAZA, (PIC)
Unexpectedly, engineer Naji Al-Fuqawi received news that the Israeli occupation army had ordered the evacuation of Hamad Residential City in northern Khan Yunis. The news struck him like a thunderbolt.
This devastating news demanded that Al-Fuqawi gather his children and whatever essential belongings and documents he could carry, and prepare for another displacement.
Breathless with fear and terror, as shells rained down on their heads targeting residential apartments, Al-Fuqawi shouted at his children and wife—nothing could compare to those moments.
Painful Moments
Al-Fuqawi told the Palestinian Information Center’s correspondent, “We went through painful and harsh moments. We had to quickly gather our belongings, carry our children, and once again flee into the unknown.”
He added that no transportation or trucks were available to carry their belongings; shelling was everywhere, and they were forced to carry their possessions and walk on foot. He explained that he had borrowed money and sold his wife’s jewelry to buy the apartment in Hamad City. “I didn’t even have time to enjoy it, and I haven’t even finished paying off the debt.”
“The occupation is trying to crush us, to break us, but they have failed and will continue to fail,” he continued. “Hamad City was a haven for many of the downtrodden and low-income families; it was our dream, our present, and our future,” he elaborated.
Hamad City
Hamad City consists of dozens of residential buildings, each five stories high with four apartments per floor. It was built with Qatari funding after the 2014 aggression and contains about 2,500 apartments. The city was named after the Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and is located in the northwest of Khan Yunis.
The city was a gathering place for families from all over the Gaza Strip, enveloped in love, harmony, and tranquility. But this was not acceptable to the Israeli occupation forces, who turned their tanks’ guns and aircraft missiles toward the beautiful towers, reducing them to piles of rubble and stones, burying beneath them memories, dreams, and incomplete happiness.
Previously, in March, the occupation forces invaded Hamad City, destroying many of its buildings and arresting numerous residents. After the occupation withdrew from Khan Yunis in April, the residents returned to what was left of the city, and tens of thousands of displaced people set up tents within and around it. However, this too was intolerable to the occupation.
A few days ago, Israeli occupation forces launched a new military operation in the city, seemingly to complete its destruction, aiming to destroy for the sake of destruction.
Citizen Muhammad Nasruddin told our correspondent that he was forced to flee from the vicinity of Hamad City under the relentless shelling, saying, “For days, we have been in the streets, searching for shelter.”
He added, “What is happening to Palestinians in Gaza is a crime and unbearable injustice,” asking, “Has the Arab and Islamic world’s impotence reached this point?”
Since Friday, the airstrikes on the city have not ceased, nor has the sound of explosions. The occupation forces have bombed some buildings and demolished others.
The destruction of Hamad City in northern Khan Yunis stands as a testament to the systematic genocide and destruction of urban and human life in the Gaza Strip, ongoing for 11 months.
