Gaza Herald – Inside a small tent that offers no protection from the summer heat or winter cold, near the Al-Attar station in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Enas Abu Daraz (30) sat with her husband and five children around a simple meal, trying to endure another exhausting day of displacement after losing their home in eastern Khan Younis.
The family has been repeatedly displaced since the beginning of the war, moving between different areas after their home in Abasan al-Kabira was destroyed as living conditions became increasingly harsh and unstable.
Enas, who has lived in displacement since the early days of the war, tried to maintain daily routines inside the tent, never expecting that an ordinary day would turn into a devastating tragedy.
One minute, then an explosion
Enas recalls: “After lunch, my two daughters Nourseen (10) and Heba (7) took an empty water container and went out next to the tent, where there are water taps we use for household needs.”
Only about a minute later, at around 13:40 on Tuesday, 2 September 2025, a powerful explosion shook the area. She rushed outside to find thick smoke rising from the water distribution point and debris scattered everywhere.
“Children’s bodies covered in blood”
The mother describes the scene: “When I got closer, I saw about eight people lying on the ground covered in blood. I tried to recognize them and found my daughters, Nourseen and Heba, next to each other.”
She continues: “Nourseen had been hit by shrapnel in her eye; her eye was gone. Heba was bleeding from her heart after being struck by shrapnel. The other children were also lying on the ground in a pool of blood mixed with water from the taps.”
In that moment, she began screaming uncontrollably. Despite fears of a second strike that kept many people away, she ran to her daughters and held them tightly.
In a scene repeated across Gaza, civilians are being killed while trying to survive at water points, food lines, and aid distribution areas, not in battlefields, but in their most vulnerable moments.
A water queue turned into a target
An Israeli drone reportedly targeted a group of children gathered at water taps set up between tents to collect water for household use.
The strike killed 13 civilians, including 8 children and a woman, and left several others injured with varying degrees of wounds.
Enas says: “My daughters were just children. They had nothing to do with this war. This is a crime against innocent kids.”
Farewell at Nasser Hospital
Shortly after, her relative Thair took the two bodies to the main road while waiting for an ambulance, which arrived about half an hour later.
The grieving mother adds: “I knew they were gone from the moment I held them, but I kept telling myself maybe there is still hope.”
The two girls were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where the mother arrived later to mourn and bid them a final farewell. The family performed funeral prayers before burying them at Al-Namsawi Cemetery near the hospital.
Repeated incidents
The Israeli military had previously declared the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis a “safe humanitarian zone” and instructed civilians to relocate there. However, the area later became overcrowded with displaced families fleeing bombardment, including the Abu Daraz family.
Displaced Palestinians in the area live in tents lacking basic necessities such as clean water, sanitation, and security. Despite the high population density, the area has been repeatedly attacked, worsening daily suffering and insecurity.
