Israeli raid kills 21 members of Al Jazeera correspondent’s family in Gaza
The family members of Momin Alshrafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, have been killed at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
An Al Jazeera employee has lost 21 members of his family in an Israeli air attack on the home in which they were sheltering in the Gaza Strip.
The family members of Momin Alshrafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, were killed early on Wednesday morning at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Alshrafi’s parents Mahmoud and Amina, his siblings and their spouses, as well as nephews and nieces were among those killed.
Alshrafi told Al Jazeera an explosive barrel hit the home, causing a deep crater in the ground.
“None of the civil defence crews were able to reach their bodies,” he said.
“We are prevented from saying goodbye to our loved ones and are deprived of giving them a proper burial.”
A video shot after the attack showed a relative of Alshrafi wailing as he stood at the debris of the house that was bombed.
“It looks like they hit the house at around 4 or 5 in the morning. We couldn’t reach the scene until the sun was up,” said the relative, adding that several children were killed.
Alshrafi, meanwhile, shared the contents of the last voice message his mother Amina sent to him before she was killed in the bombing.
“Assalam Aalaykum. Good morning, Momin. How are you? I hope you are well. How are your wife and children? How is your health? Take care of yourself, son,” she is heard saying in the voice note.
“May Allah bring you out of this war unharmed. Take good care of yourself. I really miss you, I pray for you every day. May God bless you.”
On October 25, an Israeli raid killed several family members of Wael Dahdouh, another Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in Gaza.
Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan, a broadcast engineer with Al Jazeera’s bureau in Gaza, also lost 19 family members, including his father and two sisters, in Israeli air raids on the Jabalia refugee camp on October 31.
At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at about 1,200.
