In the last hours of the life of child Hassan Shalabi, his brothers and mother laughed of his repeated embraces and kisses, stressing to them that the coming days will be better.
Hassan drew the attention of his family during the last hours of his life, when he bought them candy, and asked them to pay attention to their health, saying that the coming days would be happier.
The child Hassan Shalabi, 14 years old, was shot by the Israeli occupation soldiers days ago during his peaceful participation in the Great March of Return east of Khan Younis.
Ahmed Abu Armanah, 18, was an eyewitness to the assassination of the child Shalabi at the border fence of Khan Younis until he arrived at the hospital.
“We were 200 meters away from the fence and the soldiers fired tear gas at us. We tried to get close to the people gathering there and I was with Hassan's brother and another friend, and we saw a soldier standing, then he shot at us, and Hassan fell on the ground.”
Departure and pain
Nothing can be compared to the grief of Hassan’s brother after he lost a brother and a friend who he was in need of all the time at home, while playing games and on their way to school.
He reveals that he even can’t imagine Hassan’s departure forever. “We were four children and now we have lost one,” he said, adding: “He was as close as a twin who never left me. Now he is no longer there.”
He adds, “I did not believe his departure, even though I saw all my family bidding farewell to him. Now I will not play football with anyone, every hour I miss him. Yesterday, he was with me and today he is under the sand.”
The surprise of farewell
Shalabi's mother wondered about Hassan’s behavior on his last day as he left the house and returned several times, looking at his brothers and smiling and then coming back again.
“My son is an innocent child who did nothing, my son was bigger than his age; he liked to play with his brothers, especially football,” she noted.
The grandmother of Hassan demanded the prosecution of the Israeli army, after her grandson was killed in cold blood without posing a threat to anyone. On the last day of his life, he advised his brothers to obey their father.
Kefah, Hassan’s sister, struggles to talk about him referring to a strange incident in which he collected his new clothes and told his mother to distribute them among his brothers and friends.
“I was surprised by his looks during the last hours. I lost my soul with Hassan’s departure. I demand the prosecution of the Israeli army; the children go to peaceful marches and play near the borders,” she added.
His sister, Aseel, had a conversation with him a week before he was killed, when he told her that he could not sleep, and she was surprised by his increased attention towards his mother.
He told her that he had pain in his chest. He embraced his brothers, and kissed them, and then bought them candy, saying: “Heaven is nicer than our world.”
Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, held the Israeli occupation responsible for the assassination of children shot by snipers while being at a far distance from the separation fence.
He told the Palestinian Information Center during his visit to the house of Shalabi: “Israeli soldiers are killing children deliberately to scare the people. The blood of children will not go in waste and the resistance will respond to the crimes of the occupation.”
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