She was fleeing with her grandson, who was holding a white flag. Then she was shot

Sara Khreis replays the last day she spent with her mother over and over in her mind.

Their family had spent weeks agonizing over whether to flee as Israeli troops moved into Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighborhood, tanks rolling past their front door and a terrifying cacophony of bombs, quadcopter drones and gunfire thundering all around them.

After two nights of bombardment so intense they thought it might blow their home apart, they were resolved: they had to go.

“We woke up on November 12, the day that I will never forget my whole life. I remember every detail in it, minutes, hours, seconds,” Sara, 18, told CNN in a recent interview, holding back tears.

That morning was messy, she said. More than 20 people, relatives and neighbors, had holed up at their house as the war worsened. Sara’s 57-year-old mother, Hala, always so focused on taking care of everyone but herself, cooked a quick breakfast amid a flurry of packing up bags and made time to pray. Suddenly, they heard their neighbors outside screaming that an evacuation route had been organized: “Come on, get out, come on, get out!”

R&I – TP

Truth and Reality

Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26/middleeast/hala-khreis-white-flag-shooting-gaza-cmd-intl/index.html