Exclusive: Death on a roof top
Ahmed and Asma
al-MoghraiaMay 19, 2004 1:35 PM EST
By Jack Gerard
Rafah, Palestine
The mighty Israel's IDF sent in
tanks, helicopter gunships, APC's, and bulldozers but what the Palestinians dreaded the
most were the Sayret Yamag ( Hebrew for the ' Silent
killers ' )
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Sharon comically called this killing spree ' Operation
Rainbow '. The only rainbow in Gaza was the red spray of brains exploding as these
monsters found their targets. Today's target was Ahmed and Asma al-Moghraia , a 11yr and
14 yr. old brother and sister. |
The victims and their crime
The girl went on her apartment roof to gather the family
laundry and the brother followed to feed his pigeons. Within a few minutes Ali , the older
bother , heard a shot and then the screams of the 11yr old brother " Momma Momma
". Ali rushed to the roof to see his brother Asma leaning over his sister when the
second shot rang out. At that instant his brother lunged forward being hit in the
shoulder.
| Snipers finish him off |
| As Ali started to his brother the snipers opened up on him -
They would not be denied their kill ! Asma started to crawl to his brother when two
more shots rang out taking the top of the boy's head off. |
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Ali recounted how he pulled his brother down the stairs. His mother was
screaming in the background. He placed his brother in a spare bedroom and then went up to
get his sister.
"I had to crawl on my stomach to get to her, and when I got there
I could see her brain hanging out. Her head was spilt open in the middle. I wrapped her
head in a towel, and then I carefully dragged her body across the floor. I was flat on my
stomach all the way. It took almost 15 minutes." Daily
Star
Sniper post on the Moghraia home
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A platoon of IDF soldiers took
over the building on the left and positioned snipers on the roof.
The family of nine was ordered to stay in their apartment. Shifts of IDF
soldiers guarded the door as shots rang out all night. |
| The roof affords an almost uninterrupted view of Tel al-Sultan and the
surrounding area. On one side it looks over the hills that lead to the settlement of
Rafiah Yam to the west and the Mediterranean beyond.
The soldiers finally left at around 2am on Wednesday after killing an
estimated six civilians ( mainly women and children )
Two days later reporters arrive
When reporters finally managed to get into Tel al-Sultan on Saturday,
there was no evidence of shrapnel from explosives on the Moghraia family's rooftop. On the
wall at the top of the stairwell, beside what appeared to be brain matter and blood
stains, were four bullet holes. In the corner of the step below was a pool of dried blood.
The family says the two children were killed by Israeli sniper fire
from a nearby rooftop. Earlier in the week, the Israeli Army was reported as blaming
Palestinian explosives for their deaths, but a spokesman on May 22 acknowledged they
couldn't be sure. Daily Star
After the IDF left Mohammed showed reporters the rooftop. By the
roof's edges there were empty shell casings and in the other corner laid piles of human
waste , water bottles and tins of food.
IDF response
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Col Heim Lutz says the IDF will investigate |
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Daily
Star
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