Israeli airstrike on Rafah refugee camp in Gaza kills boy, 4, and his sister, 2

Tareq Elhelou, Zeena Saifi and Kareem Khadder, CNN
·4 min read
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An Israeli airstrike on Al-Shaboura refugee camp in southern Gaza’s Rafah city late Tuesday killed two young children and injured several other people, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza and the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah.

Several people injured in the strike were brought to the medical facility just before midnight including a 4-year-old boy named Kareem Jarada and his 2-year-old sister Mona Jarada. The Kuwait Hospital said the two infants were declared dead by medics shortly after they had arrived.

Video obtained by CNN shows people in bloodied clothes being pulled out of civilian cars and rushed into the hospital. Other videos show some injured people being taken out of ambulances marked with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) symbol into the hospital on stretcher beds.

Another video obtained by CNN from inside the hospital shows a doctor trying to treat Mona’s injuries. Her body appears to be covered in blood splatters with her left eye severely wounded. Her head and right leg are covered in bandages.

Video shot by a journalist working for CNN in the Kuwait Hospital courtyard shows a single small body bag with the bodies of both siblings inside it and their names written in marker on the outside and their date of death – April 30

Four men are seen praying over the body bag, as the children’s grandmother Um Rami Abu-Shalab crouches over, crying.

She is seen opening the bag and looking at her grandchildren, saying: “they are going to heaven.” The two lifeless heads of the children look bloodied and discolored.

“Every time I saw her eyes, I’d say she has eyes like a deer’s…God give your mother strength. God rest your souls my grandchildren,” she says while sobbing.

Um Rami told CNN she spoke to her daughter on Tuesday after sunset, when she told her she put her kids to bed after they played with the neighbors and had dinner.

“She put them to bed and then the treacherous ones came…God will punish them,” she said.

Pointing at the body bag, Um Rami told CNN they were her first and only grandchildren, calling them her “first joy”. She said their parents were injured in the airstrike and are now “between life and death.”

Kareem Jarada, aged 4, was taken to the hospital after the airstrike but was later pronounced dead. - Abu-Shalab family
Kareem Jarada, aged 4, was taken to the hospital after the airstrike but was later pronounced dead. - Abu-Shalab family
Kareem's sister Mona, aged 2, also died in the airstrike. - Abu-Shalab family
Kareem's sister Mona, aged 2, also died in the airstrike. - Abu-Shalab family

“We are going to bury them without their parents and without most of their loved ones, because they were either injured in the attack or displaced in different areas of Gaza,” she said.

Um Rami told CNN the family has been displaced multiple times by the Israeli military, but that it didn’t matter because “this is all they want, this is their goal,” she said, pointing at her dead grandchildren.

The children’s aunt, Maram Abu-Shalab told CNN from the hospital that the Israeli military struck the home her sister and her family were sheltering in without giving a warning.

“We’re still in a state of shock. What is one supposed to say? They are innocent. The babies went to bed last night, and they never woke up. They went to God…this heartbreak will stay with us forever,” she said.

Unable to hold back tears, she told CNN that Palestinian blood has been flowing like a “waterfall that hasn’t stopped” since October 7, when Israel launched its war on Hamas following an attack by the terror group that killed more than 1,200 people. Israel’s subsequent devastating assault in the Palestinian enclave has killed more than 34,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

“I didn’t even have time to enjoy being called an aunt,” said Abu-Shalab. “They didn’t even have time to grow. They were so young…we are all so sad…there is nothing harder than the devastation of death, and the death of children,” she said.

In response to a CNN request for comment, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) referred to a previous statement, that said “the IDF is operating to dismantle the Hamas military and administrative capabilities,” saying it “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”

“Given the ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks. The IDF will continue to counter threats while persisting to mitigate harm to civilians,” the statement added.

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