“The second of January is no different from any other day. Every day and
every minute feels like the moment when I lost my sons. In everything there is
a memory of them. I miss them all the time.”
On 2 January 2009 at
around 14:30 an Israeli drone fired a missile at an open area in Qarara
village, close to Khan Yunis. The missile struck and killed two brothers,
Mohammed (12) and Abed Rabbo (9) al-Astal, and their cousin, Abdul Sattar Walid
al-Astal (11) while they were playing and eating sugar canes in the land.
“I was at home when I
heard an explosion that was close to our area. An Israeli drone was flying in
the sky above us at that moment.” Eyad al-Astal recalls. “Approximately ten
minutes later, my brother Ibrahim (28) came to my house and told me that my two
sons and their cousin were killed by an Israeli shell. I rapidly left the house
and headed to the scene about 250 meters west of my house. There I saw a deep
hole. Traces of blood and fragments of flesh were still there.”
Three years have passed
since Eyad lost his two sons but he still carries vivid memories with him.
“Every day and every minute feels like the moment when I lost my sons. In
everything there is a memory of them. I miss them all the time.”
Eyad tries to describe
what the life of his family is like without Mohammed and Abed Rabbo: “Our lives
have been very difficult since they were killed. Every time I see another boy
their age, I remember my sons. I still cannot look at their photos, it is too
painful.” He says; “I always feel like crying but I try not to. My wife,
Jawaher, cries everyday but tries to hide her tears from me. She does not want
to add salt to my wounds. My wife always wants to go to our sons’ graves with
her mother, but I don’t. I only went once and don’t want to go again. I can’t
face the sight of their graves.”
Besides Mohammed and
Abed Rabbo, Eyad and his wife have five daughters and two sons. Mohammed and
Abed Rabbo were the oldest children and their siblings were either very young
or not born yet at the time of their death. The youngest child was born one and
a half years after the war and will have no memories at all. “When the children
ask us where their brothers are we tell them that they were killed, martyred,
and are in heaven now”, says Eyad.
The memory of his sons
is at the tip of Eyad’s tongue. “My son Khaled looks exactly like his brother
Mohammed and I often find myself saying ‘Mohammed!’ when I actually mean to
call Khaled.” In order to keep going, Eyad tries to stay busy all the time,
finding some distraction by meeting people and working as a mason.
Since the death of his
sons Eyad is tormented by worries and fears for the safety of his other
children. Before the death of Mohammed and Abed Rabbo he allowed his children
to go anywhere at anytime. Even when there were explosions and shooting was
heard in the area. After the incident he became very afraid for his children
and he wants to keep them inside. “I am afraid that anything would happen to them,
especially for my son Khaled, who is now in the first grade. From the moment he
leaves the house I worry that something could happen to him. Every day he walks
to school, which is 1 kilometer away from our home. I know education is
important, otherwise I would forbid him to go, out of my fear.”
The children themselves
are aware that their brothers were killed by a drone: the same type of drone
they often hear and see flying above themselves. Eyad explains that “when they
hear a drone they are too afraid to go outside. ‘The drone will bomb me if I go
out’, is what they say.”
The area where Mohammed
and Abed Rabbo were killed was an open area approximately three kilometres away
from the border with Israel. “The children were used to playing in that area.
Our piece of land is close to it. It is an agricultural residential area, far
from any hostilities,” Eyad explains.
Eyad is sceptical about
the future, given the continuing impunity. “The Israelis disregard our rights.
They kill our children and bulldoze our lands and no one will hold them
accountable,” he says. “I expect the Israeli court to reject our complaint. I
can even imagine them killing me together with my other children. However, I
want to hope that the complaint would have some result.”
PCHR submitted a criminal complaint to the Israeli authorities on behalf
of the al-Astal family on 23 June 2009. To-date, no response has been received.
———————-
The Narratives:
– 1 January 2009: The Nasla Family
– 31 December 2008: The Abu Areeda family
– 30 December 2008: The Hamdan Family
–29 December 2008: Balousha Family
– 28 December 2008: The Abu Taima family
– 27 December 2008: The Al Ashi Family.
