The Tabatibi they took the streets to Gauze to escape the war. In less than a month, Israeli army bombs twice hit the places where they had taken refuge, killing 60 members of the family.

The last blow was that of the previous night, in the densely populated district Al Daraj, in Gaza City. At least 25 members of the extended Tabatibi family were killed there, a relative told AFP.

In an alley, the six-story building where they lived is still standing, but badly damaged: the balconies barely stand on the facade, the ground floor is black from the fire, the interior full of rubble.

“We didn’t hear the rocket or whatever it was, falling, we were all sleeping,” said Khaled al-Tabatibi, one of the surviving family members, sobbing. “Our house, my sisters, their children, their girls, all of them died, all of them were torn to pieces,” he added.

THE Ziyad Dardas, a neighbor, is shocked. His brother was injured by the bombing. “It’s madness,” he said, blaming Israeli and Palestinian leaders for the tragedy. “I ask the (Palestinian) Authority, the leaders of Hamas: Isn’t that enough?”

The dead and injured were taken to the hospital al Shifamuch of which was destroyed in the recent Israeli military operation there.

The Tabatibi family is mourning their own for the second time in a month. On March 15, they had gathered in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, to eat together, the first Friday of Ramadan. The bombs fell on the building where they were, while the women were preparing dinner. 36 family members were killed, according to eyewitnesses and the Hamas Health Ministry.

The Israeli army had announced at the time that its target was two “terrorists”, without giving further details.

“They bombed the house the moment we were inside. My mother and aunt were preparing the sahur meal, which Muslims eat at dawn, before the fast begins. “They were both killed,” said Mohammed al-Tabatibi.