So at around 9 a. It would prove to be a fatal mistake. Unbeknownst to him and his family, the ceasefire โ due to start that morning at a. Hamas had not provided the names of the first hostages it planned to free that afternoon, so Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes to continue.
But the blast also sent shrapnel tearing into the al-Qudra family. By the time the truce finally began at a. Adli lay next to her. Instead she would find her husband, son and daughter were among the last of more than 47, people killed in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. Before the war, Hanan said the family of nine had struggled financially but found happiness in their home in al-Qarara. Sama would sometimes daydream aloud about her wedding day, asking what dress she would wear, Hanan said.
But the family was left displaced and destitute after the fighting started, she said, adding that the children often went hungry. The war took an especially hard toll on Sama, Hanan said. She shared a video with NBC News showing three of her daughters walking down a dusty road carrying yellow plastic jerry cans to collect water.
Sama struggles to keep up with the older girls, wiping sweat and dust from her eyes as she approaches the camera. She wanted pizza, so I bought her a small piece for 2 shekels 55 cents. The police in Gaza fall under the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, and enforce laws set by the militant group after it took control of the Strip in Israel considers members of the police force to be Hamas terrorists and legitimate military targets, even though some officers also carry out more mundane duties like traffic enforcement and crime prevention.
So the Israel Defense Forces repeatedly targeted police officers early in its month military campaign, which it launched after Hamas killed 1, people and took around hostage in the Oct. On the morning of Jan. Several of her surviving children sat next to her, a blanket spread across their laps.
