Hacer Baser
16 May 2021•Update: 16 May 2021
GAZA, Palestine
A Palestinian trapped at home with his wife and four children asked for help with a video posted to social media after his apartment was bombed by Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Sami Sakullah said in the video that the apartment was bombarded and stairs blocked the door.
“As you see, we are trapped with my wife and children. The wall is cracked,” he said.
After watching the video, civil defense teams placed a ladder on the balcony and rescued the family.
Sakullah spoke to a television station following the incident and said his family heard a powerful explosion when the apartment was bombarded.
He said they were safe as residents on the top floor but there are residents under the debris and some are missing because of the attack.
He said Israel did not give any notification before the attack.
Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Damascus Gate since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan as Israeli forces and settlers assaulted Palestinians.
Tensions moved from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate for Israeli assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
The latest casualties bring the number of civilians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza to 147, while at least 1,122 people are injured.
Earlier Saturday, Hamas' military wing, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, said rocket attacks were carried out in response to Israel’s attacks on multi-story buildings and houses where civilians live in Gaza.
*Writing by Sena Guler
