'Soul of my Soul': Palestinian Grandfather Killed by Israeli Airstrike in Gaza
+ Another school in Gaza bombed, al-Assad releases first statement since fleeing Syria, Congo-Rwanda peace talks canceled & more.
A Palestinian grandfather, whose tribute to his murdered three-year-old granddaughter touched millions, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday. His death was confirmed by Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat.
Khaled Nabhan was killed in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp—the same place where his granddaughter, Reem, and her five-year-old brother, Tariq, were killed in November 2023.
Nabhan went viral last year from a video shared on social media, depicting him kissing his lifeless granddaughter Reem goodbye, while calling her “the soul of my soul.”
“I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose and she would giggle,” he told CNN during an interview last November. “I kissed her but she wouldn’t wake up.”
According to CNN, Reem and 5-year-old Tarek, were killed while they were sleeping in their beds. Their home was impacted by what Nabhan said was a nearby Israeli airstrike in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza.
Saed Nabhan, Khaled’s nephew, told CNN Monday that there was tank shelling in their neighborhood. He relayed that eyewitnesses told him that his uncle “saw injured people and ran to help, but he was instantly killed by another tank shell.”
⤵️ WEEKLY NEWS RE-CAP 🗞️💨
🚨 ASSAD’S DENIAL: Bashar al-Assad released his first statement since leaving for Russia as the opposition seized Syria. The statement posted to social media platform Telegram and reported by Russian state outlets claimed he wanted to stay and fight.
“First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” the statement said. “On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.”
The statement added that as “terrorist forces”, entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base on the coastal city of Latakia to “oversee combat operations”.
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‼️ ISRAEL CAUSES EARTHQUAKE IN SYRIA: A massive explosion measuring 3.0 on earthquake sensors occurred Sunday after Israel bombarded northwestern Syria near the city of Tartus.
According to the the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, several videos shared online depicted the explosion.
The size of the blast indicates the presence of a large amount of stored weapons may have been impacted. Per the war monitor, Sunday’s bombardment was “the heaviest strikes in Syria’s coastal region since the start of strikes in 2012”.
🇵🇸 THE PAST 24 HOURS: At least 52 Palestinians have been killed and 203 injured in Israeli attacks across Northern and Central Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-run Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz School on Monday without warning in southern Khan Younis, killing at least 20 people, including children.
Since October 7, 2023, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed with over 17,000 identified as children, according to the enclave’s health ministry— several of the deaths include journalists, media and healthcare workers.
SEE THE UPDATED LIST OF JOURNALISTS KILLED HERE
🕊️ RWANDA AND CONGO: Planned peace talks between Congo and Rwanda have been unexpectedly canceled, the Congolese president said Sunday.
According to the Associated Press, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame were set to meet Sunday in Angola, to put an end to a decades-long conflict in eastern Congo between the Congolese army and M23 rebel group, allegedly backed by Rwanda.
Why the meeting was canceled is unclear at this time.
⤵️ THE WATCH LIST 🚨
Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds
A new study on children living in Gaza reveals the psychological impact Israel’s genocide has had on Palestinian youth.
According to the study 96% of children in Gaza feel that their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma they have been through.
The study, carried out out by a Gaza-based NGO sponsored by the War Child Alliance charity, also found that 92% of the children surveyed were “not accepting of reality”, 79% suffer from nightmares and 73% exhibit symptoms of aggression.
⤵️ REMINDER 🤲🏼
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👞 💨 NORMALIZE SHOE THROWING AT WORLD LEADERS
Sixteen years ago an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at former President George Bush.
Journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi removed his shoes and threw them at United States president George W. Bush during a joint press conference with Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq.
As he threw his first shoe, al-Zaidi yelled "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog", in Arabic.
Al-Zaidi received a three-year prison sentence, which was reduced by two years.
Related: PHOTOS: Millions Across The World Protest Against Israel's Genocide In Gaza
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