Brother and sister gunned down as they collected washing
A Palestinian brother and sister, aged 13 and 16, were killed by Israeli fire in a Gaza refugee camp today as they took down the washing from a rooftop clothesline, their family said.
Ahmad Mughayer and his sister Asma died from shots fired by troops from the roof of an adjacent building, family members said. Each was killed by a bullet to the head, the relatives said.
The army said it was checking the report.
The teenagers were killed during a major Israeli military offensive in the Rafah camp. The army said it is trying to destroy arms-smuggling tunnels, uncover weapons caches and flush out militants in the raid.
Their father , Mohammed Mughayer, 43, said the family was finishing breakfast when Asma said she wanted to get the washing. He said her mother told her not to go because of the heavy shooting outside.
“Asma said ‘don’t worry, I’ll be careful,”’ said Mughayer.
Her younger brother, Ahmed, decided to tag along to feed the pigeons the family keeps on the roof, their father said.
The family said it took almost an hour to get the children off the roof because the army kept shooting at everyone trying to reach the bodies.
“I was crawling on the roof because of the gunfire. I finally managed to get them out but with great difficulty,” said Ali Mughayer, 25, their older brother.
The bodies were being kept in a room in the family home because ambulances couldn’t reach the area as a result of the heavy fighting, the family said.
Palestinian health officials and residents said the army was keeping ambulances away.
The army denied the claim, saying it was allowing ambulances to get through, but that drivers were often reluctant to drive into areas of battle.
