Afnan al-Ghanam lived in Gaza and had her first baby during the war 13 months ago. Now, she was pregnant again and living in a messy tent camp. There was a brief pause in the fighting, which brought some hope to their family. But early Tuesday morning, an Israeli airstrike hit their tent, killing Afnan, who was seven months pregnant, and her young son, Mohammed.
They were part of over 400 Palestinians who died when Israel launched sudden airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Most of the victims were women and children. Israel says it targeted Hamas to make the group release hostages and stop controlling Gaza.
Alaa Abu Helal, Afnan’s husband, held his son’s tiny body at the morgue in Khan Younis. He cried, saying that both of his children were born into and lost their lives in the war. “Their targets are innocent people,” he said, his heartbroken.
The Israeli attacks ended a ceasefire that had allowed many families to start rebuilding their lives after being bombed for 15 long months.
Israel’s airstrikes were in response to an earlier attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. They say they don’t hit civilians but blame Hamas for these deaths because the group fights among regular people.
Alaa was visiting their damaged home in Rafah when the airstrike struck the family’s tent in Muwasi, a camp for families who had lost their homes. He wanted to see if his house had been looted. “They are gone, and now I’m all alone,” he said, crying. “The baby inside Afnan is gone too.” Mohammed was born in Rafah but had to move when soldiers ordered everyone to leave. The fighting destroyed much of Rafah as troops fought Hamas.
“You run to keep your family safe during war. But even here, my son is dead,” Alaa said. “They all are gone.”
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