Watan-The American network CNN revealed what it described as atrocities never before documented inside the besieged Gaza Strip, which came to light through the story of a Palestinian girl named “Rouba Abu Jaba”. The report details how Israeli indiscriminate bombing led to the deaths of half her family in Gaza during an airstrike.
According to the report by CNN correspondent Jumana Karadsheh, 18-year-old Rouba Abu Jaba was key to uncovering the atrocities that had been hidden in the darkness until now. Rouba was injured in one of the attacks and provided little evidence of what happened to her and her family.
The network tracked down 7 survivors, gathered video clips and satellite images, and obtained Israeli military press releases, verifying social media content. They also spoke with experts in munitions and forensic medicine, gathering evidence and details about the night of “death and bloody terror amid intense and indiscriminate Israeli military fire, which left civilian casualties.”
Horrific incident
The report describes a horrific scene where a CNN cameraman arrived a week after the strike to film, as he had been doing daily for months, and was among the first to reach the area after Israeli forces withdrew directly. It was January 14th, the day they discovered traces of a horrific crime, including the identification of Rouba Abu Jaba amidst the devastation.
The footage showed the brutal force unleashed here, with people describing a massacre of civilians. Amidst the smell of death, rescue workers were pulling one body after another, including that of a small child carried on a blanket.
7 survivors
The report mentioned that the CNN team started their investigation by questioning the Israeli military about the incident, providing them with photos and specific coordinates. The military claimed that their forces came under fire from that location on January 4th and claimed they carried out a “specific strike to remove an imminent threat,” but couldn’t confirm if the bodies were related to that strike.
Salah al-Din warehouse
The report showed an image of Salah al-Din Street where the strike occurred, with warehouses on either side of the road – an industrial area where displaced people sought refuge. According to locals, they were trapped, and Israelis were firing at anyone attempting to leave.
Samiya Abu Jaba recounted that her son Hamdi began with other relatives to take their belongings out of the door when a bomb exploded, hitting him in the heart. She added that he bled, ran, and fell to the ground and died, along with a relative and another man.
Rouba’s mother, Samiya, watched in despair as her son Hamdi died before her eyes. As they were calling for help, another bomb fell, and they all lost consciousness. When they woke up, they found their children and relatives had been killed, and Rouba was hanging between life and death.
2000-pound bomb
The report stated that what likely caused them to lose consciousness was a massive 2000-pound bomb, according to three ballistic experts who analyzed the crater. While the Israeli military claimed that allegations of firing on civilians were “baseless,” Samiya and three of her surviving children barely managed to escape.
Five of the Abu Jaba children were killed, the youngest being 10-year-old Zein and 13-year-old Ali, whose bodies were decomposing in the warehouse. According to the report, the family did not know that Rouba was still alive.
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