Dutch woman killed in Gaza sent sons away shortly before explosion
Islam al-Ashqar, the 33-year-old Dutch woman killed in an explosion in Gaza on Saturday, sent her four sons to a friend's house a few hours before her death. “If she had not done that, they would also be dead or injured,” the friend told Nieuwsuur from Gaza.
Al-Ashqar was visiting family in Gaza with her husband and four sons when the war broke out over two weeks ago. The family tried to leave Gaza last week by crossing the border into Egypt, but that proved impossible. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in contact with them.
The family's father works as a journalist in Gaza with Noor Harazeen, a family friend. “She called me yesterday because she had a headache and wanted to send her sons to me for a few hours so they could play with my children,” Harazeen told Nieuwsuur. The fatal explosion happened a few hours later. “We looked for her in the emergency room but didn’t see her.” Harazeen described Islam al-Ashqar as “the most caring woman I know.”
One of Islam al Ashquar’s sons, 16-year-old Mohammed, recorded several videos about the situation in Gaza for the NOS Jeugdjournaal over the past two weeks. A week ago, he said that his family almost managed to cross the border at Rafah. “Then we received a call from the Dutch consulate that Israel had canceled it. We really thought: it’s done, it’s over. But apparently not.”
A few days earlier, Mohammed said in a vlog that his family was terrified. “When you go to sleep, you don’t know if you’ll wake up the next day. You don’t know if you’ll still be alive in an hour.”
The killed Dutch woman was buried near the explosion site, journalist Wafa Aludaini, who is currently in Gaza, told Nieuwsuur. “There is no refrigerator or anything here to store the bodies.” According to Aludaini, the explosion happened near a shopping street. “They don’t target Hamas buildings. The only thing they target is Palestinian homes.”
The fatal bombing happened at the Susairat refugee camp, just below Gaza City, on Saturday. Palestinian witnesses and authorities told the AP that it was an Israeli bombing. The Israeli army hadn’t responded to questions about it by 8:35 p.m. on Sunday.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte is visiting Israel on Monday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and plea for restraint in the use of force on the Palestinian people. He also has a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
