Palestinian Engineer and Children Killed in Gaza City Airstrike After Returning from South

Omar Khodari, his 15-year-old son Kareem and 16-year-old daughter Hala were killed in an unexpected airstrike on their home in Gaza City, after deciding to leave their temporary shelter in Khan Younis amid Israeli bombardment.

• Omar Khodari, a 47-year-old civil engineer, and two of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City, shortly after returning from temporary shelter in Khan Younis due to previous airstrikes.
• Several Palestinians, like Khodari, who adhered to Israeli military's earnest advisement to temporarily migrate south for safety, were reportedly attacked in residential buildings and UN shelters outside the evacuation area.
• Khodari's family had decided to back to their home, a country villa in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, after facing difficulty living under bombardment at a friend’s overcrowded Khan Younis apartment.
• Survivors believe the trigger for the family's demise came down to a split-second decision of seeking shelter in different directions when they heard the noise of an impending explosion.
• The airstrikes, allegedly aimed at Hamas militants and their infrastructure, have reportedly resulted in several civilian casualties, including 28 members of the Sakallah family, Khodari’s neighbors, among other reported families in Gaza.
• The Israeli Army has not immediately responded to requests for comments on the civilian casualties while an Israeli airstrike killed ten members of the Bakri family in Khan Younis earlier, inciting widespread outrage throughout the Arab world.

3 Articles

Boston Globe PBS NewsHour Washington Post