Palestinian Teen Survives Israeli Airstrike That Killed Five Siblings in Gaza

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ICARO Media Group
Politics
28/02/2024 18h57

An 18-year-old Palestinian named Roba Abu Jibba has lived through a harrowing ordeal during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza that resulted in the death of five of her siblings. The incident occurred in early January on Salaheddin Street, Gaza's main north-south highway, where the Abu Jibba family had sought shelter in an industrial warehouse.

Roba, with a severe injury to the right side of her face, described being under heavy fire from the Israeli military, witnessing explosions and seeing her siblings perish around her. Her mother and three other siblings managed to escape, but their whereabouts remain unknown.

After a fortunate encounter and the discovery of Roba's identification card amidst the rubble, a lengthy investigation by CNN shed light on the events of that fateful night. Eyewitness testimonies, combined with hospital records, satellite imagery, and forensic analysis, painted a grim picture of the family's tragic fate.

Evidence suggests that the Abu Jibbas were attacked without warning by Israeli forces, with some family members possibly killed by a massive bomb. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed they were responding to enemy fire from the warehouse, but witnesses denied the presence of militants in the area where civilians sought refuge.

The incident adds to the toll of the ongoing conflict, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians having been killed since Israel initiated its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in response to a Hamas terror attack on October 7. The Abu Jibba family's story exposes the devastating impact of the military's actions on innocent civilians in Gaza.

The views expressed in this article do not reflect the opinion of ICARO, or any of its affiliates.

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