Kids – victims of senseless war

Saturday January 24, 2009
REPORTING FROM GAZA
By SHAHANAAZ HABIB


GAZA CITY: It was past noon on Jan 7 when Khaled Hamad Abed Rabo noticed three Israeli tanks in front of his house.
One of the soldiers, who spoke Arabic, told the family to get out.
Holding a white flag, Khaled stepped outside with his mother, wife and their three daughters — Amal, two, Samar, four and Soad who just turned seven.
"We saw two soldiers outside the tank eating chocolates and chips. They didn't say anything to us so we just stood there. Then another soldier came out of his tank and started shooting the children," said an incredulous Khaled yesterday when met outside his destroyed home in Azbet Abed Rabo in Jabaliya.
"He started with the youngest. He shot Amal first. She was standing next to me. I heard her scream and fall. When I picked Amal up, he shot Samar in the stomach and then Soad."
Khaled said his wife was so shocked that she fainted, adding that the soldier shot his mother three times in the arm. He grabbed Amal, Samar, his mother and wife and ran into the house.
"I had to leave Soad outside because she was already dead.
"While this soldier was shooting, the other two soldiers who were eating chocolates and chips continued eating."
A neighbour who worked with a clinic had an ambulance and tried to reach them when he heard Khaled's children screaming.
But the Israeli soldiers shot at the ambulance, forcing the neighbour to retreat. Then, they crushed the ambulance with a tank.
Five minutes later, Amal died in Khaled's arms.
The Khaled and his terror-stricken family stayed inside the house, but after two hours they felt it was too dangerous to stay.
So, Khaled and his brothers who live next door in the same apartment complex come out together and try to make it to safety.
"When we came out, the soldiers shot into the sky and ground to scare us but they allowed us to leave. One of my brothers carried Soad's body and I carried Amal while another one of my brothers held Samar," said Khaled.
"A few hundred metres away, we saw a donkey cart and its ow­­ner came to help us. But a soldier shot the driver and the donkey. Both of them died."
Khaled said the family then walk 2.5km until they found a taxi to take them to hospital.
His mother is now recovering, his wife is still mentally traumatised; while Samar is totally paralysed and is being treated in a Belgium hospital.
When Khaled came back after the ceasefire, he found his house reduced to a pile of rubble. He hunted for photographs of his girls but found none.
So, he has been coming back every day since the ceasefire from 7am to 7pm to sit by his home "because my memories are here."
"My children were always playing around, doing funny things and I can't accept that they are gone," he added.
"Soad — she was so clever. She was always coming in first in class and loved computers and the Internet. And Amal, she was so beautiful."
Khaled said he feels a huge pain in his heart over the loss.
He has no idea why the soldier shot the kids instead of him.
"I did not expect anyone to do such things to kids. Not even in a scary movie," he said.
When Israel attacked Gaza on Dec 27, Khaled did not evacuate his home because he had been down that road before.
He said in March last year, Israeli tanks had rolled in with 400 soldiers who made his home their hotel for four days.
"They left the house in a mess but they did not kill anyone then," he said.
Now, he says, he is not sure if he will even rebuild his home because "whom do I build it for? Israel took my family and my home."
Asked whether he was afraid of Israel now after what they had done, Khaled replied: "When I had a family and my daughters, I was afraid. Now that they have killed my family, I have nothing to fear."
Khaled, who has worked in Israel, says he likes Israelis in general and is not angry with the people over what has happened.
"I am angry with the Israeli army. I want Israeli citizens to get out of their homes and ask the army what they did and why they did it," he said.

Gaza oh Gaza

Tanggal 1 Muharram 1430, tercatatlah dalam lipatan sejarah bagaimana Israel mula menggempur Gaza. Dalam trajedi kemanusiaan ini, 1300 penduduk Palestin telah syahid dan lebih 5000 lagi cedera.

Israel bertindak kejam dengan menjadikan penempatan awam sebagai sasaran. Misi mereka hanyalah satu, iaitu mendapatkan lagi tanah bumi Palestin dan melaksanakan pembersihan etnik.

Warga dunia hanya mampu melihat kekejaman Yahudi Laknatullah ini tanpa berusaha menghantar bala tentera untuk menyekat mereka. Semuanya ini berlaku disebabkan oleh kelemahan dan ketidakupayaan negara Muslimin menentang rejim Zionist dan konco-konco serta proksi-proksi mereka.

Persoalannya kenapa ada di kalangan kita yang masih menyalahkan Hamas atas apa yang berlaku sedangkan punca sebenar kekejaman dan huru-hara ini bermula sejak penubuhan Israel pada 1948?

Apakah dosanya untuk umat Palestin menentang kezaliman yang diperlakukan ke atas mereka dan apakah salahnya bertindak menentang Yahudi yang sentiasa menyekat dan menekan kehidupan rakyat Palestin?

Tidakkah mereka tahu bahawa semasa gencatan senjata tahun lalu, Israel telah meningkatkan tekanan dan cengkaman ke atas Gaza sehinggakan Hamas terpaksa bertindak balas melancarkan roket Qassam ke arah Israel.

Kenapa ada di kalangan kita begitu buta dan tolol sehinggakan propaganda Israel lebih dipercayai mereka berbanding dengan apa yang sebenarnya berlaku. Ingat ! Israel memang memerintah dunia menerusi proksi dan media utama dunia adalah milik mereka. Janganlah kita mudah terpedaya dengan momokan dan tipu daya mereka. Dan janganlah kita menzalimi sahabat kita sendiri di Palestin dengan meletakkan kesalahan pada bahu mereka.

Puncanya kezaliman yang berlaku tetap bermula dengan Israel dan mereka wajib dihapuskan dari muka bumi ini.