TRANSCRIPT. "He died in our hands" : A resident of the Gaza Strip describes the situation in Rafah Franceinfo

The humanitarian ceasefire, scheduled to last four days, began in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Many residents in the enclave have lost loved ones. An employee of Médecins du Monde reports on the tragedy he experienced.

Published on November 24, 2023 12:33 p.m

Reading time: 2 minutes

Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip killed 14,854 people, according to a latest report from the Hamas government on Thursday. (Illustrative photo) (BELAL KHALED / ANADOLU)

To tell his story: When he finds a network to connect to the Internet, Khaled, an employee of Médecins du Monde contacted by franceinfo, sends videos. It shows a picture of a gray brick house in Rafah that was pulverized 200 meters from where he lived with his family. This is where Mohamed, his friend, died in the explosion.

“I heard the screams of my mother, my wife inside and the shards falling on the roof of where I was sleeping,” Khaled said. As the humanitarian ceasefire begins in Gaza on Friday, November 24, the number of Palestinian casualties is extraordinary. According to Hamas, more than 14,000 people have been killed since the war began.

“I felt like everything was destroyed and everyone was under rubble.”

Khaled, resident of Gaza

at franceinfo

During this war, Mohamed became like a brother to Khaled. He saved the day and together they faced the events. “We helped a lot of people. Either with my car or with his van. We bought flour and distributed it. We bought salt, we brought water,” he explains. -he.

But Mohamed, 35, was outside when the house next door exploded on Tuesday evening. “He died here in our hands. He left behind his very young wife and his three children aged 2 to 7,” he laments. “His little daughter said to me, ‘Where is my father? I need him, I want to see him,’” Khaled continues with sobs in his voice. “He was a good comrade, a good friend,” he sums up.

In Gaza, almost every family has lost a loved one. According to Khaled, this war mainly affects civilians. “The weapons that the Israelis use destroy people’s entire lives, dozens of people, stories, memories, dreams,” says the former administrative director of Médecins du monde. He is currently displaced to Rafah, south of Gaza, but assures that no place in the enclave is safe today.