Death of Gaza child renews fears of war
The recent Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip, which led to the death of a 3-year-old girl, has renewed residents’ fears of another military confrontation.
AL-MAGHAZI, Gaza Strip — For inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, the death of 3-year-old Hala Abu Sbeikha in the Israeli bombardment of her home Dec. 24 brought back memories of two wars that were waged during the same period of 2008 and 2012. November and December no longer stir war memories alone, for they also come bearing news about the killing of children and other events that keep recurring with the regularity of the sound of Israeli shelling.
Hala’s blue plastic swing lay untouched in the rubble of the house, located less than 300 meters (1,000 feet) from the Green Line on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip. Shells from Israeli tanks had completely destroyed two of the house's walls.
Her uncle’s wife, Sabah Abu Sbeikha, told Al-Monitor, “We recently bought her that swing. She barely had time to use and enjoy it!”
The shells struck two stories of the house situated in the Makboula neighborhood of Al-Maghazi, in central Gaza, leaving considerable damage, a dead child and four other casualties.
