Palestinian-American family loses 42 loved ones in one day

Photo: Tariq Hamouda.

This Palestinian-American family living in Maple Grove, Minnesota, said it has been more than a week since they learned that 42 of their relatives were killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, and they have not yet recovered from the news.

Mr. Hamouda confided that his wife, a woman whose maiden name was Saqallah, lost four brothers, a sister and almost all of their children when two explosions destroyed the Saqallah family's house on October 19 in the Sheikh Ejleen neighborhood of Gaza City.

Hamouda and his family said it was an Israeli airstrike. The IDF said it could not comment without information about the location of the compound. The family declined to provide CNN with the location for fear of retaliation.

A video taken by a neighbor and provided to CNN shows the remains of the building: charred and in ruins.

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, when talking about his wife Manal, Mr. Hamouda said: "Until last night, she still couldn't believe what happened."

“She loved all her family members. She often spent time with them during the summer.”

Mr. Hamouda explained that he and his wife used to live in the same neighborhood in Gaza but have been in Minnesota since 2004.

Photo of the house where Saqallah's family lives (Photo: Tariq Hamouda).

Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7, after the militant group breached the Gaza-Israel fence and launched an attack that killed 1,400 people, including many civilians and military personnel. Hamas also captured more than 220 others.

In response, Israel has launched a series of fierce airstrikes on Gaza. The government says it wants to destroy Hamas, the group that runs the coastal territory. But the 2.2 million Palestinians living there cannot flee across the closed borders with Egypt and Israel. They are caught in the crossfire.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 8,485 Palestinians and wounded more than 21,000 others, according to the most recent figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, citing sources inside Gaza. Another 1.4 million people have fled their homes after the IDF warned residents of northern Gaza to move south, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

But Mr. Hamouda said he had no time to mourn those who died, and he was still concerned for the survivors.

“The whole world around stopped”

In South Florida, Manal's relative, Eyad Abu Shaban, was equally distraught: “It was like the whole world stopped.”

“This is not one, two, three or four people, this is 42 relatives who have died, a reality that is very difficult to cope with.”

The dead ranged in age from three months to 77 years old, Abu Shaban said. They all lived in the same housing complex. His uncle, Essam Abu Shaban, his wife Layla Saqallah and their son Ahmed were among the dead. They had fled the nearby Tel El Hawa neighborhood to escape Israeli air strikes and were staying at the Saqallah family home.

Mr. Hamouda said that surviving relatives told him that before the airstrike, the IDF called and informed them that there might be military operations in the area, but the family was not encouraged to evacuate the house.

“They dropped bombs on the houses, with and without warning,” he said, adding that there was still a lot of fear, confusion and nowhere to go.

He said his mother-in-law, who was on the balcony when the first airstrike hit, managed to escape with the help of another surviving relative.

The second airstrike completely destroyed the compound, killing dozens of his relatives, he added.

A video filmed by some surviving family members was provided to CNN. The video shows several bodies wrapped in white shrouds being placed in a mass grave.

“My mother-in-law said her sons tried to run away but didn’t make it,” said Mr. Hamouda.

He also affirmed that his family did not participate in militia activities and “had nothing to do with those things.”

The family are all just regular people, and many of them are medical professionals, said Abu Shaban, a real estate developer in Boca Raton.

Doctors Omar Saqallah, Saed Saqallah and Ameed Saqallah were among 42 family members killed on October 19 (Photo: Tariq Hamouda).

Of Manal’s four brothers – Saed, Omar, Ameed and Khorsheed – three are ophthalmologists; the other is an ear, nose and throat doctor. Mr Hamouda said they run the largest network of family eye clinics in Gaza.

“We don’t have any Hamas members (in our family). They are all normal people: doctors and grandparents and uncles and children,” said Abu Shaban.

“If they want to destroy Hamas, then go to the root and do it.”

Call for ceasefire

The Maple Grove community has rallied behind the Hamouda family, offering them sympathy and condolences.

Community members visited the Brooklyn Park Islamic Center this past week to pray for the family. A member of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office offered condolences and support.

But Hamouda and Abu Shaban just wanted to stop the massacre.

“We have never seen the whole world witnessing the killing of innocent people in this era. Whole families have been completely wiped out,” said Abu Shaban.

“I just want people to know that the people of Gaza are just like them, they feel pain, they can bleed, they have relatives and families and they have feelings.”

He said he found it difficult to bear the images and videos of the conflict.

Activists and human rights groups as well as international officials have called for a ceasefire, but the war continues to rage, and is entering a more intense phase of ground fighting.

Until the massacres end, his family will be in turmoil, Mr. Abu Shaban said: “I am still stuck in this nightmare, and I have not woken up yet.”

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/gia-dinh-nguoi-my-goc-palestine-mat-42-nguoi-than-trong-mot-ngay-a633794.html