Survivors of Israeli air strike describe wide-scale destruction
As the Israeli offensive in Gaza enters its fourth day, Palestinian survivors of air strikes are reeling from the continuous bombardment.
“We heard warnings from Israel to vacate and then the shelling started,” Inshirah Matar, an elderly lady from Gaza, told Middle East Eye.
“The shelling started at sunset, we were just sitting at home and we had phone calls telling us to run for safety. We didn't take any of our things, we had to leave everything behind,” she added.
According to residents who spoke to MEE, the shelling targeted family homes, many of which housed young children.
“The area is overpopulated, we all live close together and the homes are filled with elderly people and young children,” she said.
According to the eyewitness, residents were forced to wait out in the streets from around 4pm to 8.30pm, as they watched their homes destroyed.
“We watched windows smash, and many of us were afraid. I fell and needed to be taken to hospital, while the children were screaming and wetting themselves at night from fear.”
As of Thursday, 19 housing units were destroyed, 28 became uninhabitable and 286 were damaged, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian Government Media Office.
