Al Jazeera has secured exclusive testimonies and footage concerning the family of a Palestinian woman who was shot by an Israeli sniper while accompanied by a child carrying a white flag during displacement from Gaza City on November 12th.
The network documented the burial of the martyr Hala Khrais at her family's home, as they were unable to reach any cemetery due to the Israeli blockade. Cameras also captured the site where the sniper fire struck the woman and the street used by the fleeing inhabitants.
Middle East Eye published a video showing the moment Hala was shot by an Israeli sniper while she was moving with a group of displaced people in Gaza City. Al Jazeera obtained a licensed copy for publication.
In their testimony, the family confirmed that the Israeli army deliberately targeted martyr Hala, who led a convoy of displaced people that had received sudden field instructions from the Israeli army that contradicted the Red Cross's guidelines regarding the movement and pathways of the displaced.
On the morning of November 12, 2023, the Khrais family received a phone call informing them of coordination by the Red Cross with the Israeli army to facilitate their displacement towards the south of the Gaza Strip. There was a movement of displaced individuals carrying white flags in the area of Al-Nasr Street, heading towards the corridors leading to the south of the Strip.
Testimony of the martyr's niece
Malak Al-Khatib, Hala’s niece, who was accompanying her in the convoy of displaced, said, “We indeed left carrying white flags. When we saw the Israeli vehicles, we saw the first tank, and weren't fired upon, so we felt reassured that there was coordination.”
She continued, "We kept walking, and my aunt Hala was in front. At that moment, I heard a call from the Israeli army to the displaced, asking them to move to the left side, even though the initial coordination was to continue forward on Al-Wehda Street."
She added, "Then I asked the displaced individuals to head left, and my aunt Hala was about to change her direction, but suddenly she was shot by the Israeli army and martyred. The scene was extremely difficult for me and our family. We always saw such scenes on the Internet, but never expected to live through them in reality."
Malak confirmed that gunfire continued towards the displaced even after her aunt was shot, and she still cannot understand how they survived to this day.
Regarding the child with Hala, she said, "My aunt was holding the hand of her 5-year-old grandson Teem, who was carrying the white flag. His mother had lost contact with her son until we learned that he had gone south of the Gaza Strip."
She explained that they do not know the fate of Teem after his displacement to the central and southern provinces of the Gaza Strip and urged the world to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Malak also mentioned that her aunt was extremely saddened before her martyrdom due to the loss of relatives in this war and they had not expected that she would become a martyr the next day.
She appealed to human rights organizations and the Red Cross to return Teem to his parents and demanded an international investigation into the killing of her aunt, which she deems an outright execution.
Testimony of the child's mother
Heba Khrais, Teem's mother, intended to join her family when they left their home. Suddenly, after their departure, she heard the sound of gunfire and the screams of locals. When she went outside, she found a neighbor carrying her mother, who had been shot.
"My mother was killed and my son Teem was holding her hand; after that, I did not know what happened to my son."
She reported that they attempted to provide first aid and care to her mother at home, but she died due to severe bleeding. Subsequently, she and her husband searched the streets for their son, despite the presence of Israeli military vehicles, but they were unable to find him.
Later, Teem's family learned that he was with a family that managed to flee to the south of the Strip; however, since the incident on November 12, they have not been able to reunite with him.
Teem's mother implored international institutions and human rights organizations to intervene to return her child from the southern part of the Strip.
Since then, the family has feared moving south because all the passages and areas the Israeli army claims are safe come under bombardment and gunfire around the clock.
