As Israel attacked Gaza’s north, 26 members of his family were wiped out
Al Jazeera
Surviving Assalia family members are trying to flee Jabalia as Israeli forces return – but they don’t know where to go.
In Gaza’s north, two roads run between the city of Jabalia to the Jabalia refugee camp.
As-Sikka Street passes along the route of the railway that used to cross Gaza before the creation of Israel, linking it to Iraq, Turkey, Egypt and the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Running parallel to As-Sikka is a smaller street known as Assalia, named after the large Assalia family that inhabits that neighbourhood.
Late last week, 26 members of the Assalia family were killed, and six houses on that street were reduced to rubble by an Israeli attack, according to witness testimony. The street is now barely a dirt track, as seen from images following the event’s aftermath, which Al Jazeera reviewed, with bodies emerging each day from under the debris.
Ibrahim Assalia, 46, a media lecturer originally from Gaza who has been living in the United Kingdom since 2006, was on the phone with his brother as the attack on Jabalia, and his family, took place.
