Who died? Confusion in Gaza over death of mother and baby
New information emerging in the last hours casts serious doubt on Hamas’ claim that a Gazan woman and her baby daughter were killed in an Israeli Air Force strike in Gaza city on Saturday night.
Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS
A woman in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night and her toddler baby were reportedly killed, with Gazan sources identifying the victims as 14-month-old Saba Mahmoud Abu ‘Arar and her pregnant mother Falastin.
Hamas claims she was killed by an Israeli strike, but the IDF is saying she was killed by terrorist activity in the area.
However, as the hours pass it is becoming clear that Hamas may be lying about the entire incident.
The Hamas-controlled Minister of Health in Gaza is now saying that it misstated that a mother and daughter had been killed, and instead a toddler has in fact died, but her mother is alive.
The Health Ministry told TPS that another woman named Falastin Abu ‘Arar was killed in the attack, and that she too was pregnant.
The woman killed may have been the baby’s aunt and not her mother.
The Hamas’ confused statement generated rumors on social media, including one that says that the baby died of chemicals and not by an explosion.
The IDF stated Sunday afternoon that “Palestinian weapons caused the tragic death of a mother in Gaza and her baby.”
“Hamas blamed Israel. Journalists amplified the lie. Our assessment indicates that the incident had nothing to do with IDF strikes,” it underscored.
Earlier on, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee stated on Twitter that “according to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian terrorists and not as a result of an Israeli strike.”
Pictures “clearly show the launching of rockets from crowded areas,” he said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Islamic Jihad and Hamas are committing a double war crime by intentionally targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind the local civilian population.
