Mr El Attar says his wife – Hala – was “dedicated” to helping displaced people.
She was working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), he says, a UN agency that provides support for Palestinian refugees.
Now the nurse says he is forced to come to terms with the life they could have had together.
“I worked tirelessly to support my family and watch my children grow up, dreaming of giving them a better future – a big house, a car, and mobile phones,” he says.
But now “all those dreams have been destroyed”.
“I demand justice for my family”, he says, something he vows to pursue through “any international court”.
“Israel has committed a grave injustice. My entire family has been wiped out in an instant, leaving me with nothing.”
The Israel Defense Forces has not commented on this specific strike, but has said it was operating in Deir al-Balah over the weekend.
In another statement on Monday, it said it had been operating in the outskirts of Deir al-Balah “eliminating terrorists, destroying combat compounds above and below ground”.
It says it only targets members of armed groups, and blames civilian deaths on Hamas – who it says places fighters, weapons, tunnels and rockets in residential areas.
Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.
That attack triggered a massive Israeli military offensive against Gaza and the current war, during which more than 40,170 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
