a 60-year-old pharmacist from Gaza City, described the shelling of a car with a family fleeing south in Gaza  Every morning, at 7:30 A.M., I go to my pharmacy on al-Jalaa St. I work until midday and go home.   On Thursday, 2 November 2023, at around 1:30 P.M., I was driving home from work in my jeep along with my dog. I took a-Rashid Road and when I got to the neighborhood of a-Sheikh ‘Ajlin, I saw a horse-drawn cart with bodies next to it. I drove away quickly, and other cars overtook me on the way. After I went about two kilometers, I heard a huge blast to my left, from the east. The shock wave was so strong I thought I’d been hit, but I checked and saw I was fine.   A Mitsubishi jeep driving about 100 meters ahead of me was hit by a shell and veered right. I pulled over behind it and saw a man get out. I got out of my car and ran over to them. Inside the car, I saw some injured people and a man and a woman who were dead. I found out later they were from the Abu Tabikh family. They were covered in blood. I moved the woman and the injured children to my car. The man I first saw stepping out of the car also got in. They were very frightened and I tried to calm them down. The bodies of the man and woman stayed behind. I couldn’t take them.  I drove them to Shuhadaa al-Aqsa Hospital. On the way, the woman and the girl blacked out. I slapped the woman on the face to try and wake her, while calming the others down. Her hand was almost severed and she was bleeding badly. I tried to stop the bleeding. I was afraid she wouldn’t make it alive to the hospital.   On the way, I saw more bodies along the coastal road. There were tanks there, firing shells towards the sea, and all the cars were speeding and not slowing down. I was driving the jeep and my big dog was so scared, he sat in my lap.  I got to the hospital and dropped off the injured people. Only then, I discovered my jeep also took a hit, in the back, and the glass was shattered. I left and drove home. I was scared and exhausted when I got home. My whole body was hurting from the stress, especially the right side.   I’ll never forget that day. It was a ghastly sight.   * B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah explained that a-Rashid Road, which connects the northern Gaza Strip with Rafah in the south, is currently being used by residents fleeing south, since the military closed off Salah a-Din Road.   The Abu Tabikh family was fleeing south in the jeep. Hayat Abu Tabikh (66) and her son Ibrahim Abu Tabikh (42) were killed. The family members Sweirjo took to hospital were Hayat’s daughter Nidaa Abu Tabikh (32), who was moderately injured, and Ibrahim’s children: Muhammad (16), who was severely injured, and Sujud (15), who was injured in the hand. Travelling in the jeep were also Nidaa and Ibrahim’s cousin, Muhammad Abu Tabikh (41), and his children: Muhammad (15), Malek (13) and Adam (5), all of whom were safely removed from the jeep by other people.

a 60-year-old pharmacist from Gaza City, described the shelling of a car with a family fleeing south in Gaza  Every morning, at 7:30 A.M., I go to my pharmacy on al-Jalaa St. I work until midday and go home.   On Thursday, 2 November 2023, at around 1:30 P.M., I was driving home from work in my jeep along with my dog. I took a-Rashid Road and when I got to the neighborhood of a-Sheikh ‘Ajlin, I saw a horse-drawn cart with bodies next to it. I drove away quickly, and other cars overtook me on the way. After I went about two kilometers, I heard a huge blast to my left, from the east. The shock wave was so strong I thought I’d been hit, but I checked and saw I was fine.   A Mitsubishi jeep driving about 100 meters ahead of me was hit by a shell and veered right. I pulled over behind it and saw a man get out. I got out of my car and ran over to them. Inside the car, I saw some injured people and a man and a woman who were dead. I found out later they were from the Abu Tabikh family. They were covered in blood. I moved the woman and the injured children to my car. The man I first saw stepping out of the car also got in. They were very frightened and I tried to calm them down. The bodies of the man and woman stayed behind. I couldn’t take them.  I drove them to Shuhadaa al-Aqsa Hospital. On the way, the woman and the girl blacked out. I slapped the woman on the face to try and wake her, while calming the others down. Her hand was almost severed and she was bleeding badly. I tried to stop the bleeding. I was afraid she wouldn’t make it alive to the hospital.   On the way, I saw more bodies along the coastal road. There were tanks there, firing shells towards the sea, and all the cars were speeding and not slowing down. I was driving the jeep and my big dog was so scared, he sat in my lap.  I got to the hospital and dropped off the injured people. Only then, I discovered my jeep also took a hit, in the back, and the glass was shattered. I left and drove home. I was scared and exhausted when I got home. My whole body was hurting from the stress, especially the right side.   I’ll never forget that day. It was a ghastly sight.   * B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah explained that a-Rashid Road, which connects the northern Gaza Strip with Rafah in the south, is currently being used by residents fleeing south, since the military closed off Salah a-Din Road.   The Abu Tabikh family was fleeing south in the jeep. Hayat Abu Tabikh (66) and her son Ibrahim Abu Tabikh (42) were killed. The family members Sweirjo took to hospital were Hayat’s daughter Nidaa Abu Tabikh (32), who was moderately injured, and Ibrahim’s children: Muhammad (16), who was severely injured, and Sujud (15), who was injured in the hand. Travelling in the jeep were also Nidaa and Ibrahim’s cousin, Muhammad Abu Tabikh (41), and his children: Muhammad (15), Malek (13) and Adam (5), all of whom were safely removed from the jeep by other people.