Engineer from Palestine Dies in Airstrike After Returning to Gaza City

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Omar Khodari and his family had heeded the advisory from the Israeli military, recommending that they relocate from the northern region of the Gaza Strip to the southern part. The family believed that they would find a temporary haven in the southern town of Khan Younis until conditions stabilized in Gaza City, according to statements from Khodari’s relatives.

However, the aerial bombardments seemed to trail them like an inexorable tempest. Khodari observed the death of numerous Palestinians who, like himself, had abandoned their residences heeding Israeli warnings, only to become casualties of Israeli airstrikes that targeted residential complexes and United Nations facilities beyond the demarcated evacuation zones.

Feeling beleaguered in his friend’s cramped apartment in Khan Younis, Khodari, a 47-year-old civil engineer with 15 years of work experience in Dubai, resolved that enduring further suffering was pointless when he had his own spacious villa in Gaza City, which he had spent recent months meticulously planning and decorating.

The Khodari family made the journey back to Gaza City this past Wednesday, as confirmed by relatives. A mere hours later, an airstrike occurred. There was no prior warning, according to surviving family members. Khodari and two of his children—15-year-old Kareem and 16-year-old Hala—were killed instantly in the explosion.

Ehab Khodari, Omar Khodari’s brother, expressed inconsolable sorrow over the telephone, stating he would be unable to discuss the calamity for an extended period.

The family’s stucco villa, located in the affluent Rimal neighborhood, was reduced to wreckage. Neighbors managed to extricate Khodari’s surviving wife and children from the debris, noting that the blast had hurled them through a window. They are currently undergoing intensive medical care.

Sami Khodari, a cousin of the deceased, pointed out that the direction in which family members sought shelter within the house became the decisive factor in determining survival. The fatal strike impacted the side where Khodari and two of his children had taken refuge.

According to Sami Khodari, the perilous environment in Gaza renders everyone a potential target. “One’s destiny seems to be solely in the hands of providence,” he remarked.

The Israeli military has not yet issued a statement in response to queries about the incident. Since the onset of the bombings, which followed a lethal Hamas attack that resulted in the death of 1,400 Israelis on October 7, the Israeli forces have maintained that their airstrikes are targeted at Hamas operatives and infrastructure, explicitly stating that civilians are not the focus of their operations.

It should be noted that the Khodari family were not the sole casualties of the devastating airstrike. A late Wednesday bombardment also claimed the lives of numerous other Palestinians, including 28 members of the Sakallah family, who were neighbors to the Khodaris.

On the subject of specific casualties, the overwhelming tragedy makes it difficult for many in Gaza to discuss individual cases, as collective sorrow engulfs the entire population.

Noor Swirki in Khan Younis, where another airstrike killed 10 members of the Bakri family, including seven infants, earlier in the week, noted, “It’s not about one family or another; it’s about the whole of Gaza, which has been forever altered.” Disturbing images of deceased infants have incited widespread condemnation across the Arab world.

Please note that this is a sensitive and politically charged topic, and the details mentioned are based on the information available at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Gaza Airstrike

More about Gaza Airstrike

• Israeli Military’s Official Statements
• United Nations Reports on Gaza
• Recent Developments in Gaza-Israel Relations
• Khan Younis: A Brief Overview
• Overview of Airstrikes on Residential Areas in Conflict Zones
• Statistics on Civilian Casualties in Gaza
• International Humanitarian Law and Airstrikes
• Background on Hamas and its Role in the Conflict
• Public Reactions in the Arab World to Gaza Airstrikes