Man whose son was executed in his lap by Israeli forces 23 years ago now mourns brothers
There is a depth of despair in the eyes of Jamal al-Durrah, who mourned two members of his family killed in Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza.
It was 23 years ago to the day that the Palestinian dad was filmed with his young son Muhammad crouching behind a concrete block on a street in Gaza as Israeli forces rained bullets on them.
Footage taken by cameraman Talal Abu Rahma showed Jamal trying to shield his child from the gunfire as he screamed in terror.
Moments later, after the smoke of an explosion clears, the boy is slumped across his dad’s lap.
Images of his killing shocked the world and the two became the defining symbols of the second Palestinian uprising.
Now, years later, Jamal is facing the terror of burying more members of his family.
A video shared on Twitter showed him crouching next to two bodies covered in white sheets, reported to be his brothers.
‘May God make it easy for you,’ he repeats several times before saying ‘goodbye’.
‘May God have mercy on you and on all the martyrs. May God give us patience.’
It is one of the most heart-wrenching moments to have been captured on camera since Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip more than a week ago.
Jamal himself was hit by 12 bullets on September 30, 2000, and spent months in hospital recovering.
He is one of the tens of thousands of Gazans reliving the horrors of the uprising during Israel’s efforts to wipe out Hamas.
Residents of Hamas-ruled Gaza said the overnight strikes were the heaviest yet in nine days of conflict.
Entire neighbourhoods have been demolished and more than 1,000 people are missing under the rubble of buildings.
The death toll rose to 2,750, while the number of civilians wounded surpassing 10,000.
Gaza health officials have started to store bodies in ice-cream trucks as morgues are running out of space.
Videos posted online also show bodies wrapped in white cloth being buried in mass graves as cemeteries are full.
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