A relative said Israeli gunfire on Thursday killed an 11-year-old girl whose family had returned to a designated safe zone, adding to more than 400 deaths reported since a ceasefire was reached to halt fighting in Gaza nearly three months ago.
After shells and shrapnel hit her home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area, Hamsa Housou was taken to Shifa Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Outside the hospital mortuary, her uncle Khamis Housou said that the family had returned home on October 11, a day after the ceasefire went into effect.
Housou, who said his niece had dreams of becoming a doctor, told how early on Thursday he heard screams as Israeli troops combed the area where shells and shrapnel hit. He ran from his flat towards the home where Hamsa lived and found her lying on the floor.
He carried the girl to the nearest clinic, only to find the ambulance there had a flat tyre. They waited about 15 minutes, he said, before taking her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“They say that there is a ceasefire and that the war on Gaza has stopped. Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and fire belts?” he asked. “Shooting does not stop. Where is the ceasefire?”
Khamis Housou said that Falluja, the neighbourhood in Jabaliya where the family lives, has been subjected to daily shooting by Israeli troops despite being on the western side of the yellow ceasefire line.