19 members of Al Jazeera engineer’s family killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza

Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan, who works with the Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza, lost his father, two sisters, eight nephews and nieces, brother, brother’s wife, and their four children, his sister-in-law, and one uncle in the air strike.

By: Express Web Desk

Bengaluru | Updated: November 1, 2023 01:15 PM IST

3 min read

In this frame grab from video, Palestinians are seen inside a heavily damaged apartment building following Israeli airstrikes at the Jabaliya refugee camp on Gaza City’s outskirts, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Fadi Majed via AP)

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The news became personal for a broadcast engineer working with Al Jazeera after 19 members of his family, including his father and two sisters, were killed in the Israeli air strikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza on Tuesday.

Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan, who works with the Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza, lost his father, two sisters, eight nephews and nieces, brother, brother’s wife, and their four children, his sister-in-law, and one uncle in the air strike. Israel has claimed that the strike was targeted at a senior Hamas leader and a militant command centre set up in civilian houses and an underground tunnel network in the camp premises.

Palestinian health officials said that at least 50 Palestinians were killed and 150 wounded in the airstrikes which left large craters surrounded by wrecked concrete buildings.

Condemning the act, the Qatar-based news channel said that the “massacre” was an “unforgivable” act by the Israeli forces.

“Al Jazeera vehemently condemns the heinous and indiscriminate Israeli bombing that has resulted in the killing of 19 family members of our dedicated SNG engineer, Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan,” it said in a statement.

Israel Defence Forces, in a statement, said that the airstrike on Gaza’s largest refugee camp on Tuesday had killed Ibrahim Biari and dozens of Hamas combatants who were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari.

“He [Biari] was very important, I would say even pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip,” said IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, as per a Reuters report.

“And I understand that is also the reason why there are many reports of collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. We’re looking into those as well,” Cornicus added.

The attack came days after Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh’s wife, son, daughter and granddaughter were killed in another Israeli air raid last week. The family had followed Israel’s advisory asking Gazans to move from the northern part of the besieged strip to the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the southern part where the Israeli military had encouraged people to go to stay safe, as per Al Jazeera reports.

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