"For Batoul Hamdan and her two children, seven-month-old Fatima and Jihad, three, Monday's iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan, was special. For a week, they had eaten to the sounds of bombs in their home in Arab Salim. Hamdan eventually decided to leave for Al-Nimiriya, the sleepy town where she had grown up. Surrounded by her parents and siblings in the family home, she hoped they could finally enjoy the festive mood of Ramadan."
"The Israeli airstrike collapsed the two-storey building instantly, killing all eight members of the Hamdan family: grandparents Ahmad and Najib, their children, including Batoul, and grandchildren Fatima and Jihad—three generations wiped out in a moment. On Thursday, only snarled rebar and broken concrete remained of the Hamdan family home."
"Batoul and her loved ones were among the 773 Lebanese people—including more than 100 children—killed by Israel's campaign in Lebanon since 2 March. They join a growing list of families completely wiped out by Israeli bombings, in a conflict whose death toll is rising faster than in any previous war in Lebanon."
Batoul Hamdan fled her home in Arab Salim with her two young children to celebrate Ramadan with her extended family in Al-Nimiriya. During their iftar meal, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the family home, killing all eight family members across three generations. The strike provided no warning. Among the debris were fragments of their lives—school certificates, household items, and personal belongings scattered by the blast. A neighbor and police officer witnessed the destruction but could not explain why the family was targeted. This incident represents part of a broader Israeli military campaign in Lebanon that has killed 773 people, including more than 100 children, since March 2, with death tolls rising faster than in any previous Lebanese conflict.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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