Death of Palestinian Twin Infants on Birth Certificate Issuance Day Due to Israeli Attack

Mohammad Abulqosman learned shortly after receiving the birth certificate for his twin infants that they, his wife, and his mother-in-law had been killed in an Israeli attack on a residential building in the Gaza Strip where his family had sought refuge. Reuters reported on Wednesday, August 24, that this Palestinian man was crying and shaking the birth documents of the twins, which should have been a symbol of joy and life in the devastated Gaza, while receiving the bodies of his family in the hospital morgue. Mohammad Abulqosman said he was on his way back from the birth certificate issuance location when local residents called him to inform that 'the twins, my wife, and my mother-in-law have been killed. They told me that a tank shell hit the apartment where we had taken refuge.' He, along with a few others, received the small bodies of the four-day-old twins, a boy named Aser and a girl named Aysel, wrapped in white shrouds and transferred them from the morgue to a vehicle parked nearby. One of the attendees was loudly praying for the deceased, and people were watching this painful scene from around and the balconies of the emergency center of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, located in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, is one of the few medical centers still operational and is under severe pressure due to the high number of patients and injured. The heavy and continuous attacks by the Israeli army over the past ten months, along with severe shortages of medicine, food, and drinking water, have brought the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, to its knees. Khalil al-Daqran, one of the doctors at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, stated: 'Today is recorded in history that the occupying army targeted newborn twins who were not even four days old, along with their mother and grandmother.' The Israeli army has always claimed that it tries to avoid harming civilians and has accused Hamas of using the civilian population in Gaza as human shields. Hamas has consistently denied this accusation. The Israeli army's attacks on the Gaza Strip began in response to a surprise attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on southern Israel on October 7. According to Israeli government statistics, around 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, were killed in the attack by Palestinian militants, and more than 250 were taken hostage. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, stated in its latest announcement that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed due to Israeli attacks in the past ten months, 92,000 others injured, and a large part of the buildings and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed.