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It is better to die from bullets

From statements collected in Gaza by Human Rights Watch in January.

Ziad Deeb, male, twenty-two, student, Jabaliya. On January 6, Israeli forces fired five mortar shells in the vicinity of the United Nations–run Fakhoura School in Jabaliya. Two hit private houses, and three landed on a crowded street, killing more than forty people, including eleven members of the Deeb family.

I came to see if my family was harmed and to find out where the rocket had hit. As soon as I arrived at the door, another shell landed in front of me. I only heard the whistling in my ear. My legs felt very hot. When the smoke cleared, I saw that some were dead. Others were dying and reciting their prayers. My cousin Mohammed and my father were lying next to each other, both dead. Next to them was my grandmother, who was also killed. She had been knitting. I saw blood pooling on the ground. My brother’s dead body was in front of me, and he had absorbed most of the shrapnel. His name was Mohammed, twenty-four years old. Another small girl, Asil, died—she was nine. They amputated my legs at Shifa Hospital. I also had shrapnel in my abdomen and right hand.

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SEE ALSO: Arab-Israeli conflict; Atrocities; Gaza Strip; Palestinian Arabs

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