Devastated father wonders why an Israeli strike killed his 4-year-old daughter
That afternoon, an Israeli strike hit a tent on the side of the road, killing Massa and some of the other children'She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?' her father saidDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Massa Abed, 4, brought a rubber ball and her doll to play with friends on the street near her family's home on Sunday. It was a mundane day in Zawaida, the central Gaza town where the Abeds returned weeks ago, with calm largely restored in the area.But that afternoon, an Israeli strike hit a tent on the side of the road, killing Massa and some of the other children.Her older brother, 16, grabbed Massa's little body and rushed to the hospital on a donkey cart. When she was pronounced dead, he wailed, holding her.Days later, Massa's father, Samy Abed, turned the green ball in his hand, describing the incident to The Associated Press.'She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?' he said. 'She's 4 years old. What can she do? She can't even carry a rock.'The Israeli army did not respond to requests for comment on the strike, and it remains unclear why the area — near the city of Deir Al-Balah — was struck or who was targeted. Israeli officials have often blamed Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Palestinian militant group regularly operates from residential areas and hospitals and accusing it using civilians as human shields.Since Israel resumed attacksmore than a month ago, at least 809 children have been killed, said Zaher Al-Wahidi, a spokesperson with Gaza's Health Ministry.Overall, the ministry says, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, in October 2023. Ministry officials do not differentiate between civilians and militant deaths but say that more than half the dead have been women and children. Israel says it has killed over 20,000 militants, without providing details on those deaths.On March 18, a surprise Israeli bombardment shattered a six-week ceasefire mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt; hundreds of Palestinians were killed. Mediation efforts to restore the ceasefire have faltered, and Israel has vowed more devastation if Hamas doesn't release the remaining hostages kidnapped in its rampage on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.That Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others. Israel says 59 hostages remain in captivity, at least 35 of whom are believed to be dead.Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, not allowing food, medicine, or assistance to enter the strip. The United Nations World Food Program said its stockpiles that it used to feed over 600,000 people daily are empty. Israel says the blockade's aim is to increase pressure on Hamas to release the rest of the hostages and to disarm.At the hospital where Massa's brother brought her, bodies of her young playmates lay nearby — a reminder, relatives said, of children in danger as attacks continue.Massa had the confidence and bubbly personality of a teenager, socializing and conversing with everyone, her father said as he scrolled through photos and videos where she played and posed for the cameras.He soon turned to photos of her body at the hospital.'We see her when we're asleep. When we wake up, we remember her,' he said.Majdi Abed, Massa's uncle, says he has regular visions of her. 'I was sitting right here at 7 a.m., and I felt the girl coming toward me,' he said, describing how he frequently bursts into tears upon realizing it's not really Massa.The family still expects her to show up at their breakfast table.But, her father said, 'her spot is empty.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US-backed aid group says it did not operate on Saturday due to Hamas threats
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was unable to distribute any humanitarian aid on Saturday because Palestinian militants Hamas had issued 'direct threats' against the organization's operations. 'These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,' the organization said in a statement. 'GHF will not be deterred. We remain committed to safe, secure and independent aid delivery. We are actively adapting our operations to overcome these threats and fully intend to resume distributions without delay.'
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Hamas armed wing says Israeli army besieged location of hostage Matan Zangauker
The spokesperson of Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday that the Israeli army besieged the location where Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker was held in Gaza. The Israeli army would not be able to retrieve him alive, he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Military Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza, Defense Minister Says
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday. Nattapong Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian armed group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified. Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza. Israel's military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week. There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, which has previously denied killing its captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive. The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase. Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. US-BACKED AID GROUP HALTS DISTRIBUTIONS Aid distribution was halted on Friday after the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations. It was unclear whether aid had resumed on Saturday. On Wednesday, the GHF suspended operations and asked the Israeli military to review security protocols after Palestinian hospital officials said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near distribution points between June 1-3. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. It says it has provided around 9 million meals so far. Israel is facing growing international pressure over its offensive against Hamas, which has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of its population. Hamas-led gunmen took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7 attack, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, and left much of the densely populated coastal enclave in ruins. Families of remaining hostages fear that those alive are in danger from the continued Israeli offensive and those dead will be lost forever. Israel says the campaign is aimed at bringing them all back. More than 40 hostages have been killed in captivity, some in the course of Israeli strikes and others killed by their captors.
