9 January 2009
Around 7:00am, an Israeli tank fired at our house. We decided to leave, and went to our neighbor, Hussein al-Aydi. A little while later, we heard that the army told people to leave the houses in the area, and we decided to go to another place. We left together with the neighbor’s family. Together, we were 25 persons. Read more about Testimony: Israeli troops open fire on those fleeing shelling
8 January 2009
Since the beginning of Israel’s military attack on the Gaza Strip, there have been lots of bombing and shelling in our area. For a week, we stayed with my sister, who lives between al-Bureij and al-Mahgazi, but then they started bombing there too. The house shook after every bomb. My pregnant wife began to feel sharp pain in her stomach, a result of tension and fear. Read more about Testimony: Nowhere is safe from Israel's bombing
8 January 2009
When the missile stuck, I lay down with my daughter under me. Everything filled up with smoke and dust, and I heard screams and crying. After the smoke and dust cleared a bit, I looked around and saw 20-30 people who were dead, and about 20 who were wounded. Some were severely wounded and some lightly. Read more about Testimony: Gaza family massacred, survivors detained
4 January 2009
I turned on the generator to turn on the light. Then we heard the sound of planes in the sky. I heard a buzz and within a few seconds, I found myself under ruins. Everything collapsed so quickly, like in an earthquake. The smoke was thick. I couldn’t see any of my family, who had been sitting with me a few moments earlier. Abdallah Kashku testifies to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem on the Israeli bomb strike that killed his daughter and sister-in-law. Read more about Testimony: "They found her body in the kitchen"
4 January 2009
On Monday [29 December], around 11:50pm, I woke up and heard my husband calling to me: “Samira, Samira, they shelled the mosque, get up and see, and recite the Shahada [Prayer of the dying].” It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything. I recited the Shahada. I felt something heavy choking me and pressing on my body. Samira Balousha testifies to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem about the deaths of her five daughters. Read more about Testimony: Five girls in one family killed by Israeli bombing
11 December 2008
My husband and I live with our five children in Wadi al-Hussein. My brother-in-law Husni al-Matariyeh and his family live in the same building. He has 10 children. The building is located about 20 meters from the fence of the Kiryat Arba settlement and two 200 meters from the house that the settlers invaded about a year and a half ago [“the House in Dispute”]. Settlers have been assaulting us almost every day for a long time. Read more about Testimony: Jewish settlers assault family in Hebron
13 November 2008
I live in the Sultan neighborhood in Rafah with my parents, three brothers, and three sisters. In 2006, I began to work as a fisherman. My father taught me the trade and I worked with him for about two months. Then I went to work with Omar al-Bardawil. Omar has two boats, one a motorboat and the other a rowboat. When gas is available in the Strip, we use the motorboat, and when there isn’t gas, we use the rowboat. Read more about Testimony: Israeli navy shoots and wounds fisherman off Gaza coast
11 November 2008
I live with my family in Nilin. We live on the ground floor of the house, my two uncles and their families live on the first floor, and my grandmother lives on the second floor. Last Thursday [11 September] around 3:00am, I woke up from my mother’s shouts. She was shouting, “Get up! Get up! The army is here!” My father wasn’t home that night. I got up and went out with her to the inner courtyard of the house. Read more about Testimony: Twelve-year-old beaten and imprisoned with adults
17 September 2008
I married Muaiad Abu Rideh two years ago, and had a baby girl, Shadah, a year ago. She was born in my seventh month of pregnancy but is fine now. Seven months ago, I became pregnant again. Last Thursday [4 September], I had sharp stomach pains and I started to bleed badly. Read more about Testimony: Woman delivers stillborn child at checkpoint
15 September 2008
According to B’Tselem’s figures, on 31 August 2008, Israel was holding 13 Palestinian minors, two of them girls, in prolonged administrative detention in Israel, in breach of law. At the end of June 2008, 730 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention in Israel. Read more about Rights group: 13 Palestinian children in administrative detention