Gaza Herald – “My dear father was executed in cold blood in front of my deaf siblings when he tried to defend them and explain their medical condition to the soldiers in Hebrew, but they understood nothing but the language of killing.”
With these painful words, Amal Kamal Nofal summarizes the moment she lost her father, ten days after communication with her family in Gaza was cut off, before his killing reached them through the media, without a farewell, and without him seeing the grandson he had been eagerly waiting for.
Evacuation order
Kamal Muhammad Nofal (65), a retired employee of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), was living with his family in a residential building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City when Israeli forces stormed the area and ordered an immediate evacuation.
The family had no choice but to comply with the soldiers’ orders. Kamal left with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and his grandchildren in a displacement journey involving 23 people, including 9 children, most of whom had disabilities such as deafness, muteness, and visual impairment.
During the journey, in the darkness of night and under extremely difficult conditions, the family struggled to move according to the soldiers’ instructions due to the visual impairments of some of the children. At that point, Kamal stepped forward, trying to resolve the situation using Hebrew, which he spoke, to explain that his four children (Hossam, Ahmed, Mahmoud, and Wafa) suffered from hearing and visual disabilities.
Extrajudicial killing
The soldiers did not give him time. They opened fire directly, bullets striking his chest, and he fell killed in front of his children in what the family describes as an “extrajudicial execution.”
Inside the home, a relative recounted the moments before his killing: “We were 23 civilians, young and old, trapped in one room. The soldiers fired bullets and threw grenades inside the home for more than 15 minutes.”
In the midst of fear, the family suggested that the father go out to speak to the soldiers, as he was the only one able to communicate. He went out hoping to protect them, but he never returned.
The witness added: “As soon as he stepped out, they shot him immediately, then threw a grenade at him while he was lying on the ground.”
Kidnappings and abuse
Following that, Israeli occupation forces kidnapped the men and young men of the family and interrogated them under torture, while the women were forced to flee south. Despite the mother explaining that her children had disabilities and needed assistance and constant care, they were handcuffed, forced to undress, and interrogated in the street.
One of the sons, who is deaf and mute, communicated through sign language that he was beaten on the site of a previous surgical operation on his back. A soldier also reportedly snatched his glasses and threw them against a wall before he was taken through the rubble while unable to maintain his balance.
On December 30, 2023, Kamal Nofal passed away, leaving behind a devastated family burdened with grief and loss.
He was killed while trying to explain to Israeli soldiers the medical condition of his children, stressing that they were unable to comply with orders due to their disabilities. But their bullets were faster than his words, silencing him forever and leaving his children without the support that had once been their only safety.
