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Al Jazeera obtained testimonies and photos documenting the execution of 15 Palestinian civilians by Israeli occupation forces inside a residential building in Gaza City on December 19.
According to testimonies, the mass execution of civilians took place inside the “Anan Building” after the Israeli army stormed Gaza City.
The girl, Rula, and her brother, Uday, confirm that the Israeli soldiers separated the men from the women before shooting them, and their father, Ayman (44 years old), was among the victims.
On that day, Rula’s younger sister, Nada (3 years old), was martyred in her arms after being seriously injured in the residential building where the horrific massacre took place.
Rola narrated what happened by saying, "They separated us from the men first, and after they had eaten us, the women and children, they took us from one room to another. We could hear the sound of men being executed in the other rooms of the house."
She continues in her narration, "There were about 15 men in the building. They stripped them of their clothes and tortured them in front of us. They broke my husband's jaw with rifle butts, and broke his arms severely, while he was groaning in pain. Then they shot all the men mercilessly while they were lying on their stomachs."
Shortly after the executions - the Palestinian girl adds - tank shells and Israeli quadcopter fire began raining down on women and children.
Rola continues that she tried to protect her sister, Nada, but her serious wounds did not save her, and she says that women and children were injured.
Her brother, Uday, confirms her account of the incident, and tells how the men were executed in front of him, including his father.
As for their mother, Heba Salem, she remembers what happened that day by saying, “A day we will not forget, and we will never forget.”
Exclusive scenes
Exclusive scenes obtained by Al Jazeera show the residential building where the mass execution took place, and other scenes document the first pictures of Nada's body shortly after her martyrdom.
Other scenes also show the bodies of men lying face down with deep wounds on their bodies and traces of bullets in various parts of them, indicating execution-style killings.
Other internal shots of the building show the effects of continuous tank shelling on it. The camera also monitors the scene of the crime committed by the occupation soldiers, showing bloodstains on the walls and floors, and many empty bullet casings.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said - in a previous statement - regarding the incident that “field killings and executions are one of the types of horrific violations practiced by Israeli forces in areas of incursion, which include looting, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, torture, and widespread destruction without any necessity or proportionality.”
The Observatory called for an urgent international investigation to be opened into the horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army in areas of its incursion into the Gaza Strip, including field executions, torture, and threats to rape women, according to testimonies it collected from released civilians.
Source: Al Jazeera