Baraa’ Abd al Rahman Badawi

Baraa’ Abd al Rahman Badawi is an 11 year old Palestinian boy who lives in Gaza City with his mother, Dima Badawi. On 7 January 2009, at approximately 18:30, during the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, codenamed ‘Operation Cast Lead’, Baraa’s father, Abd al Rahman Badawi, and Baraa’s maternal uncle were targeted and killed by tank shelling in the Al Zaitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City. Baraa’, who was six years old at the time, was woken from a nap by the explosion that killed his father and uncle. Despite his young age, living in the context of occupation and the constant threat of attack, Baraa’ had a premonition that his father had been killed. Dima explains, “When I went to his room, he sat up in his bed and shouted, “My father is dead”. He became hysterical, screaming and crying, and could not be consoled. It was only after an hour that we found out his premonition had been correct.”

(Mahmoud Ezz Eddin Wahid Mousa lost 6 members of his family in an Israeli attack)

At approximately 20:30 on 14 January 2009, during ‘Operation Cast Lead’, Israeli forces carried out a drone strike at the house of Ezz Eddin Wahid Mousa Family, in Gaza City. At the time of the attack, the Mousa family members were sitting in the tin-roofed front yard of their house and had just finished having dinner. As a result of this attack 6 members of the Mousa family were killed and another member was seriously injured.