CNN SPECIAL REPORT
How indiscriminate Israeli fire killed half a family in Gaza
The right side of Roba Abu Jibba’s face is almost completely gone – a deep, bloody wound is where her eye should be.
The 18-year-old, confused and in pain, lies on a gurney in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. She tries to explain how she got there. She had been sheltering with her family for two months in an industrial warehouse on Salaheddin Street, the strip’s main north-south highway, she explains, when they came under heavy fire from the Israeli military.
In a whisper, she recalls being shot at, explosions and bulldozing. She says she watched her brothers and sisters die around her. Her mother and three of her siblings were able to flee, but she’s not sure where they went.
After a chance encounter and the discovery of Roba’s identification card under rubble, a weeks-long CNN investigation has been able to piece together what happened during one terrifying night in early January, which left five of her siblings dead. Their story offers a window into the Israeli military’s overwhelming and often indiscriminate use of force in areas where civilians were told they would be safe, helping to uncover an atrocity that would otherwise have remained hidden.
Nearly two weeks after the attack, a group of residents combing through the destruction on Salaheddin Street came across a horrifying scene: at least eight people, including three children, all dead, huddled inside a collapsed warehouse. Those working to retrieve the bodies covered their faces, shielding themselves from flies and the smell of decomposing flesh.
Nobody knew who the people were – yet another group of unidentified victims among the nearly 30,000 Palestinians who have been killed since Israel launched its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 terror attack.
CNN interviewed seven eyewitnesses to the attack, tracking down relatives now scattered across the enclave, including Roba’s mother. Their testimonies were cross-referenced with hospital records, satellite imagery and dozens of videos and photos from the scene, reviewed by forensics and ballistic experts, who analyzed the damage to the building and injuries of the people found inside of it.
Taken together, the evidence reveals how the Abu Jibbas came under attack by Israeli forces without advance warning. It also suggests that some were killed by a massive bomb.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN they were responding to enemy fire from the warehouse. One eyewitness said he heard what he called “resistance fire,” referring to fire from Hamas or another militant group, and local journalists reported “clashes” in the area that day. Eyewitnesses said there were no militants inside the warehouses where they were sheltering, and that they weren’t aware of Hamas operating in the area.
Further Reading: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2024/02/middleeast/israel-bombing-family-gaza-investigation-intl-cmd/
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