In a nighttime airstrike on their house that was intended to murder their father, Mayar and Ali Ezzeldeen died.
On Monday night, Mayar and Ali arranged their clothing, bought candy and snacks, and went to bed early in anticipation of an exciting school trip to the Gaza Strip the following day.
The two siblings and their father perished in their house five hours prior to the journey as a result of an Israeli air strike.
An internet video depicts a mother saying goodbye to the shrouded bodies of her children and husband that are lying on the ground.
“May God grant you mercy. She sobbed, “My soul, my children,” as her family members pulled her away to prevent her from passing out.
Children of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) military commander Tareq Ibrahim Izzeldeen are Mayar, 11, and Ali, 8.
The family was asleep when an Israeli fighter jet attacked the whole floor of their apartment building in Gaza City’s al-Remal neighborhood.
The attack resulted in the deaths of fifteen Palestinians, including three PIJ members, four children, and four women.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, over 20 other people were hurt, including three children and seven women, some of whom are in serious or life-threatening condition.
Izzeldeen, 48, a native of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, was one of the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners freed in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. Izzeldeen was also a former prisoner who had been held in Israeli custody.
Izzeldeen was exiled to Gaza by the Israeli government after being freed.
The Israeli military tweeted about 80 minutes after launching the airstrikes, “The IDF has just announced the beginning of Operation Shield and Arrow.”
Just after 2 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 40 fighter jets bombed various locations within the besieged enclave, according to the Israeli military.
A Sad Day
“On this sad morning witnessed by our steadfast Gaza Strip, it is with sadness in our hearts that the School of Pioneers and Leaders honors two innocent students who were martyred at the hands of the brutal Zionist bombing of the Gaza Strip,” said Mayar and Ali, who The School published on Facebook.
When classmates woke up who were supposed to be on the same class trip as their brothers, they only found that it had been canceled because their parents were reluctant to tell them why. “
Mayar was a good friend of my daughter Leen. She was a very good student and Leen loved her very much,” Aya Abu Taqia, 35, told reporters. “
Leen got sick at school a few days ago and she told me she felt like Mayar would stay with her and comfort her until we could pick her up.“They were very enthusiastic about today’s trip. We bought candy and food yesterday as Leen, Mayar and their friends planned to bring a picnic blanket to sit down and share food. I’ve never seen her so excited.”
Before Abu Taqia went to bed, the first Israeli air raid took place. It was a few moments before he saw the messages on the school WhatsApp group.
