Pleas of surviving relatives: The loss of Mena, along with her parents Eyad and Layali, and her sister Lina, has left surviving relatives and neighbors in profound grief and outrage. Family members have spoken of their heartbreak at losing so many loved ones in a single devastating strike. Eyad’s extended family has called on the international community to recognize the innocence of their loved ones and to hold accountable those responsible for the attack. They emphasize that Mena was just a toddler, and her family were civilians, not combatants, questioning how such a tragedy could be justified. Neighbors and community members in the al-Manara neighborhood mourn the family as symbols of the immense civilian suffering caused by the conflict. Many have expressed: “How can children and families be targeted like this? They were not soldiers; they were our neighbors, our friends, our children. The world must see this injustice and act.”

Pleas of surviving relatives: Eyad’s brother expressed bitter sorrow and anger: “What do they [Israel] think he was doing, firing missiles from his wheelchair?! What did he, his pregnant wife, and their daughter, do to be mutilated like this?!”

Pleas of surviving relatives: Her father, speaking to local journalists and aid workers, expressed disbelief that his home had become a target: “She was just a child — a little girl who never hurt anyone. She was sleeping in her room when the missile came. What kind of enemy is a 10-year-old girl? What was her crime?” Dima’s mother, overwhelmed by grief, was quoted by a neighbor saying: “She wanted to be a teacher. She used to teach her younger siblings the alphabet. Now all I have left are the clothes she wore and the sound of her voice in my memory.”

Pleas of surviving relatives: In the aftermath of the strike, relatives of the Salha family spoke out in anguish and disbelief. Eyad’s brother, overwhelmed with grief, said: “They were just sitting in their home and eating. What threat was a man in a wheelchair? What crime did a child and a pregnant woman commit? They were blown apart while having dinner in their own kitchen. How is this justified?”

Pleas of surviving relatives: She was just sleeping beside me,” he said tearfully. “In one moment, everything turned to dust. How do I raise my daughter without her mother?” Relatives described Huda as a kind and devoted woman, deeply involved in her family’s life. “She always put Malak first,” said a cousin. “She didn’t deserve this. No one here does.”

Pleas of surviving relatives: “He was not involved in anything political,” one family member reportedly said. “He was at home, in a building full of families, and they bombed it without warning. What threat did he pose?” His grieving parents and siblings called upon the international community to protect civilians and to hold those responsible for indiscriminate attacks accountable. “We do not want revenge,” his mother said tearfully. “We just want peace. No mother should have to bury her 20-year-old son like this.”

Pleas of surviving relatives: “We had nowhere else to go,” Eyad reportedly said from his hospital bed. “She was just sitting in the room, talking to me. A moment later, everything turned to fire and smoke. I couldn’t reach her… I couldn’t save her.” Family members have pleaded with the international community to recognize the civilian suffering in Gaza and to help end the violence that continues to destroy innocent lives. “We are not fighters. We are families,” said one of Fida’s relatives. “What crime did Fida commit? She was a wife, a daughter, a neighbor. She never held a weapon.”

Pleas of surviving relatives: “Firas was a kind young man, full of life. He wasn’t fighting anyone—he was in a residential building. Why was our home turned into a target? Why are our youth not safe in their own streets and towers?”