As jubilation has taken over in Israel over the release of the two captives overnight, Palestinians in Rafah recount a night of horror and devastation.
Forty-day-old Majed al-Afifi is among about 100 people killed by Israeli forces overnight in Rafah, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
His uncle recounts the devastating night.
“We heard the bombing without warning,” Said al-Hams, 26, told the AFP news agency in Rafah refugee camp. His nephew, a twin, “was born exactly 40 days ago and was killed”, while their mother was wounded. Dozens of Israeli strikes pounded Rafah, where some 1.4 million people have sought refuge during four months of Israel’s war on Gaza.
ALSO READ: Xi Jinping’s never-ending hunt for corruption in the Communist Party
“The situation was hell,” said Abu Suhaib, who was sleeping dozens of metres from where Israeli forces struck.
“We heard the sound of explosions, like hell falling down on civilians,” he told AFP. The 28-year-old said he heard warplanes firing, shooting and a helicopter landing. The aerial bombardment also left five vast craters, at least 10 metres wide and five metres deep, an AFP journalist said.
“I can’t tell you how we survived the night,” said Abu Abdullah al-Qadi, who was woken by the sound of shooting.
“They killed my cousin, they killed a lot of people with strikes,” he told AFP, as dozens gathered by the destroyed buildings.
“They stormed this building and it appears that they freed prisoners – and then they bombed it,” said Qadi.
“They bombed all the houses next to it,” he added.
SOURCE: Aljazeera
