By: Al-Hareth Al-Husni

TUBAS, January 8, 2025 (WAFA) - On a quiet morning in the Palestinian town of Tammoun, eight-year-old Rida Ali Ahmed Bsharat and ten-year-old Hamza Ammar Ahmed Bsharat played in the courtyard near their homes, a familiar and cherished spot where they often spent their time. 

Nearby, their 23-year-old cousin, Adam Khair Al-Din Ahmed Bsharat, sat peacefully, enjoying a cup of coffee.

What happened next shattered the tranquility of the scene—and the lives of their families forever. A missile, launched from an Israeli drone, struck the spot where the three sat, killing them instantly.

A crime disguised as security

The Israeli military claimed the attack targeted an “armed cell,” a justification immediately rejected by the local community and witnesses. Residents described the area as a small courtyard surrounded by homes, far from any main road. 

“They were just sitting near their homes, as they always did,” said Jallal Bsharat, a relative of the victims.

“They were children, playing in their usual spot,” added Yusuf Bsharat, another family member, standing in the devastated courtyard. With his arms outstretched, he described the tight space where the missile struck. “This was not a battlefield—it was a place of safety for our children.”

The strike left the Bsharat family in unimaginable grief. Rida and Hamza, the two boys who lost their lives, were born after a decade of their parents’ hopes for children. Adam, who had recently returned from performing the Umrah pilgrimage, was the family’s pride.

​The attack in Tammoun was not an isolated event. In the past 24 hours alone, five residents of Tammoun were killed, victims of the ongoing Israeli military attacks in the region. Since October 7, 2023, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank has risen to 843, including 175 children.

“This is a deliberate targeting of civilians,” said Ahmed Al-Asaad, Governor of Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley. “The occupation forces are sending a clear message: no Palestinian, not even our children, is safe.”

Al-Asaad called on the international community to intervene, describing the attack as part of Israel’s broader campaign of aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

An echo of Gaza’s suffering

The tragedy in Tammoun mirrors countless others in Gaza, where an ongoing Israeli aggression since October 2023 has claimed tens of thousands of lives, the majority of them women and children. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Tammoun attack as a continuation of the Israeli government’s systematic targeting of civilians, a blatant violation of international law.

“This is not an accident or an isolated incident,” the Ministry stated. “These are deliberate crimes carried out with impunity.”

A call for justice

For the families of Rida, Hamza, and Adam, justice feels far away. The community, still reeling from the loss, is left with questions that no investigation can truly answer. 

How can a child playing outside their home be considered a threat? How can a life be taken so casually, leaving behind only grief and devastation?

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M.N