Our house had two floors. On the first floor were 250 square meters of storage rooms, and we lived on the second floor. We are farmers and have land next to the house.
On Saturday night, 3 January 2009, Israeli jets dropped leaflets calling on residents of the area to leave their homes. The army did the same thing in previous incursions and we didn’t leave the house, so this time, too, we decided not to leave.
Around 4 P.M. the next day, 4 January, when all the family was in the house, the army started to shell our area. A few minutes later, shells landed on our house. Fire broke out in the house and several members of the family burned to death: my father-in-law, his baby daughter Shahd, and three of his sons – ‘Abd a-Rahim, Zeid and Hamzah.
My mother-in-law and her sons Yusef, ‘Omar and ‘Ali suffered burns. The fire spread throughout the house. I was holding my daughter Farah and we were both burned too. My clothes went up in flames, and some of my skin and Farah’s skin was scorched. Luckily, my baby daughter Aya wasn’t hurt. I ripped the clothes off my body and cried out that I was burning. I was naked in front of everybody in the house. My body was burning and the pain was excruciating. I could smell my flesh burning. I was in a horrible condition. I looked for something to cover myself and shouted non-stop. My husband’s brother took off his pants and gave them to me to wear. The top part of my body stayed naked until my husband came and covered me with his jacket.
Then he ran to the road to get an ambulance or find some people to help us get the killed and injured people out of the house. He couldn’t find any ambulance or firefighting vehicle. His cousins, who live nearby came to help. My husband lifted me up and Nabilah, his aunt, picked up Farah. Another aunt, who also came to help, took Aya.
Muhammad, Farah, Nabilah, her son ‘Ali, ‘Omar, Matar and I all got onto a wagon hitched to a tractor. Muhammad-Hikmat drove it, heading to Kamal ‘Adwan Hospital. We also took the body of the baby Shahd. We left all the others in the house.
On the way, we saw soldiers about 300 meters from al-‘Atatrah Square. Muhammad stopped the tractor and suddenly, the soldiers opened fire at us. They killed Matar and Muhammad-Hikmat. ‘Ali was wounded and managed to run away with Nabilah and ‘Omar.
The soldiers told my husband to undress, which he did. Then he put his clothes back on and the soldiers told us to continue by foot. We left the three bodies in the wagon. My husband, Farah, and I walked toward the square, where we got into a car that happened to be passing by. He took us to a-Shifaa Hospital. It was about 6:00 P.M. when we got to the hospital.
I am still hospitalized. My whole body was burned, and so was my face. Farah has third-degree burns. We were referred to further treatment in Egypt and they tried to take us to Rafah by ambulance, but the army fired at us on the way. The driver was slightly wounded in the face and he drove back to the hospital. Now we are waiting for authorization to leave for Egypt.
On 29 March 2009, two months after giving her testimony to B’Tselem, Ghada Abu Halima died of her wounds in a hospital in Egypt.
Beit Lahiya, the Gaza Strip, 4 January 2009
The testimony of Ghada Abu Halima, 21, a mother of two
The testimony was given to Muhammad Sabah on 9 January 2009
I lived with my husband, Muhammad, 24, and our two little daughters, Farah, 3, and Aya, 6 months, in the a-Sifa section of Beit Lahiya. We lived in the same house as Muhammad’s parents and his seven siblings, the youngest of which was the baby, Shahd, 1.
That day was a terrible disaster for us. The bombs were the kind that catch fire and burn. The bodies of my brothers and my father were completely charred and the injuries were extremely severe. Everyone had second- and third-degree burns. Seeing the family like that was terrifying. We cried and shouted and called out to the neighbors to help us, but no one could come near and save us because the Israeli army was about 100 meters away and shooting at anyone who approached.
My wife was hospitalized for almost a week. My daughter and mother were also hospitalized. They were all badly injured. Then, while the war was still going on, my wife and daughter were transferred for treatment outside the Gaza Strip, to Egypt, and I went with them. While I was in Egypt, the family coordinated with the Red Cross and they buried my father and my brothers. The bodies were charred.
The bodies of my cousins, Muhammad-Hikmat and Matar, stayed where they were killed. My sister Shahd’s body was also there, because we couldn’t evacuate her immediately. Only two weeks later did the Red Cross go there and take their bodies to Kamal ‘Adwan Hospital. The bodies were in bad condition. My sister Shahd’s body had been eaten by dogs and my cousins’ bodies had been trampled by tanks.
In the hospital in Egypt, my wife and daughter underwent a series of treatments including surgery, disinfection of the burns, and skin grafts. My wife suffered greatly. The doctors explained to us that a chain interaction had been triggered in her body by the phosphorus, shutting down cells. Her condition grew worse and on 29 March 2009, she passed away. I went back to Gaza with her body. My daughter was badly injured and was sent to the US for treatment, after Save the Children intervened. She was there for nine months. Her condition improved, but to this day she is receiving treatment. My mother was hospitalized for about eight months at a-Shifaa Hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Egypt.
Both my daughter and my mother have been hospitalized over the years at mental health clinics because they suffered post-trauma and anxiety attacks, especially because of the sight of the bodies. My mother was especially traumatized. She lost six members of her family and was seriously injured herself.
We contacted human rights organizations and filed a lawsuit against the Israeli army for intentionally bombing us while we were safely inside our house, not posing any danger to the army in any way. They dropped white phosphorus bombs on us, which are prohibited under international law, and they killed my father, my brothers, my wife and my baby sister Shahd. The lawsuit was filed through the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza. A year after the war, my mother was called to give a statement and later also my brother ‘Omar and me. It was all in vain. Ten years later, justice has not been served. The Israeli army intentionally committed a cruel crime and did a terrible injustice to innocent children, killing them with phosphorus bombs.
I feel that the issue is dead, it’s become a thing of the past. Israel is above the law and no one dares demand accountability from it. We have been through ten years of ongoing tragedy. Nothing but sadness and crying, without a single moment of joy. Since the war and death of my family, I’ve felt like I’m living in a nightmare.
I haven’t forgotten that day, that disaster. I keep remembering my father, my brothers and my wife. I remember how I used to play with my little brothers, and their laughter. Losing my father has been very difficult for me, and so has losing my wife, my partner for life. I had dreamed that my wife and I would continue our lives together, with our girls. But life and death are in the hands of God. I lost my wife while praying for her to get better, to go back to Gaza together and carry on with our lives. The hardest moments for me are when my daughters ask about their mother, especially Farah. It is so painful to me that they don’t remember her. I talk about her and tell them about her, but they say they don’t remember her.
About a year after the war, I remarried and have had three daughters and a son since. I carried on with my life, but nothing is the way it was before the war. The horrible memories are always with me, and especially the sight of my baby sister Shahd. My mother was nursing her when the house was bombed. What did she do to be killed like that? She was our only sister. I remember the joy we all felt when my mother finally had a girl. I remember how my mother cried with happiness. I wish Shahd were with me now. I could have had a sister like other people, I could have played and laughed with her, and bought her clothes and toys. Shahd was like an angel on earth, so beautiful. She was the joy of the household. May God envelop her in His mercy and help us bear this terrible loss.
Years after the war, my brother Mahmoud got married, but for us the happiness was not full. We cried the whole wedding, there was no festive atmosphere in our house. We have been through difficult times without our loved ones. May God have mercy on them and give us strength to endure the loss.
I still hope that it will be possible to reopen our case and have it heard in international courts. A terrible injustice was done to us and I hope they hold the Israeli army accountable and prosecute them for the crime they committed against my family. Human rights organizations should also intervene to raise the matter again, so Israel and its leaders be brought before an impartial international tribunal, be held accountable for their actions, and my family receive the justice it deserves.
Muhammad Abu Halima, Ghada’s widower, 34 and a father of six, met with B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd this year, relating the day of the bombing and life since:
In the 2008-2009 war, while we were in our home in Beit Lahiya, the Israeli army dropped white phosphorus bombs on the house. It happened on 4 January 2009, at about 4:00 P.M. The bombing killed my father Sa’dallah, 45, my wife Ghada, 21, and my siblings ‘Abd a-Rahim, 13, Zeid, 10, Hamzah, 7, and Shahd, who was 14 months old, the only girl among nine children. My mother Sabah, who was then 44, my daughter Farah, who was 3, and my brothers ‘Omar, who was 18, Yusef, who was 16, and ‘Ali, who was 4, were injured.
The investigation file was closed on 19 July 2010.
Letter dated 1 January2012 from Major Dorit Tuval, Deputy Advocate for Operational Matters