Tel Aviv Tribune obtained testimonies and private footage of the family of a Palestinian woman who was subjected to direct fire from an Israeli sniper, and she was with a child carrying the white flag during the exodus from Gaza City on November 12 last year.
Tel Aviv Tribune also documented scenes of the burial of the body of the martyr Hala Khreis in her family’s home, due to their inability to reach any cemetery due to the Israeli siege. The camera also monitored the location of the woman’s shooting and the street that the displaced people took.
The Middle East Eye website published a video clip showing the moment Hala was shot by an Israeli sniper while she was moving with a group of displaced people in Gaza City. Tel Aviv Tribune obtained a licensed copy for publication.
In their testimony, the family confirmed that the Israeli army deliberately shot the martyr Hala, who was at the forefront of the convoy of displaced people who received sudden field instructions from the Israeli army that contradicted the nature of coordination with the Red Cross regarding the displacement movement and its paths.
On the morning of November 12, 2023, the Khreis family received a phone call informing them that there was coordination from the Red Cross with the Israeli army to facilitate their displacement to the southern Gaza Strip. There was a movement of displaced people carrying white flags in the Al-Nasr Street area, heading towards the lanes leading to the south of the Strip.
Testimony of the martyr’s niece
Malak Al-Khatib, the niece of the martyr Hala, who was accompanying her in the convoy of displaced people, says, “We actually went out carrying white flags, and when we saw the Israeli vehicles, we saw the first tank and we were not exposed to fire, so we felt reassured that there was coordination.”
She continued, “We continued walking, and my aunt Hala was in the front. At that moment, I heard a call from the Israeli army to the displaced asking them to walk to the left, even though the coordination was originally to continue walking forward on Al Wahda Street.”
She added, “Then I called on the displaced to go to the left, and my aunt Hala was going to change her direction, but she was soon exposed to gunfire by the Israeli army and was martyred. The scene was very difficult for myself and our family. We always watched these scenes on the Internet, but we did not expect to live them.” In reality”.
Malak confirmed that shooting at displaced people continued after her aunt was shot, and that she still cannot comprehend that they are still alive.
She said regarding the child who was with Hala, “My aunt was holding the hand of her grandson, Tim, who carries the white flag and is 5 years old. His mother lost contact with her son until we learned that he had gone to the southern Gaza Strip.”
She explained that they did not know Tim’s fate after his displacement to the central and southern governorates of the Gaza Strip, and called on the world to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza.
Malak stated that her aunt was very sad before her martyrdom due to the loss of relatives in this war, and they did not expect that she would become a martyr the next day.
She appealed to human rights organizations and the Red Cross to return Tim to his parents, and demanded an international investigation into the murder of her aunt, which is considered an explicit capital crime.
Certificate of the child’s mother
Heba Khreis (Tim’s mother) indicated that she intended to join her family when they left the house. Suddenly, after they left, I heard the sound of gunfire and people screaming. When she went out, she found a neighbor carrying her mother after she had been shot.
“My mother was killed while my son Tim was holding her hand, and I did not know my son’s fate after that.”
She reported that they tried to provide first aid and care for her mother at home, but she died due to severe bleeding. After that, she searched with her husband for her son in the streets. Despite the presence of Israeli vehicles, she was unable to find him.
Later, Tim’s family learned that he was with a family that had managed to flee to the south of the Gaza Strip, but since the incident occurred on November 12, his family had not been able to meet him until this moment.
Taim’s mother called on international institutions and human rights organizations to intervene to retrieve her child from the southern Gaza Strip.
Since then, the family has feared displacement to the south because all the corridors and areas that the Israeli army claims are safe are being bombed and shot around the clock.