Condemnation comes as March on Washington for Gaza takes place today in Washington, D.C.
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/13/2024) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the murder “in cold blood” of Hala Khreis, a Palestinian grandmother in Gaza reportedly shot by an Israeli sniper while holding the hand of her grandson who was waving a white flag as the family fled on foot along an “evacuation route” that had been declared safe by the Israeli army.
SEE: Shot in ‘cold blood’: Killing of Palestinian grandmother sparks outcry
Video Shows IDF Allegedly Killing Palestinian Woman with Child Waving White Flag
The murder of the Palestinian grandmother by Israeli forces shown on the recently-published video comes as the March on Washington for Gaza takes place today in Washington, D.C., and after CAIR said the Biden administration’s decision to bomb Yemen without congressional approval instead of ending the Gaza genocide “unnecessarily, illegally and dangerously” risks a regional war and endangers more innocent lives. Video of the crime was taken Nov 12, but released recently.
SEE: War in Gaza, election factor into some of the many events planned for MLK holiday
CAIR: ‘March for Gaza’ to draw large crowds to Washington days after US strikes in Yemen (USA Today)
Relatives of Khreis say an Israeli soldier shot her deliberately as she and her family walked along the route that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said would be safe and had been “cleared” by the Israeli army.
Other people among the group said they were re-routed at the last moment by Israeli soldiers, but Khreis and her grandson, Taim, 5, did not see the soldiers indicating that they should change course. An Israeli soldier had opened fire on Khreis before she could turn back.
Al Jazeera reports: “In a verified and widely circulated video, Khreis was seen holding her grandson’s hand. The small child was waving a white flag when the soldier opened fire.”
Witnesses say Israeli soldiers continued to shoot at the group of displaced people after Khreis was murdered. In the confusion after the shooting, the grandson was separated from his family and was only located hours later.
The murder of Khreis comes as Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told members the UN Security Council: “Colleagues who have managed to make it to the north in recent days describe scenes of utter horror: Corpses left lying in the road. People with evident signs of starvation stopping trucks in search of anything they can get to survive.”
SEE ALSO: Corpses on streets amid scenes of ‘utter horror’ in Gaza, UN official says
In other Israeli was crimes, dozens of other Palestinian civilians were killed and doctors were forced to treat patients, including more than a dozen babies, by the light from phones after Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital lost power due to the Israeli fuel blockade. In Gaza City, an Israeli air strike killed 20 Palestinians, for a total of 135 killed just in the past 24 hours.
WATCH: Dozens of civilians killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
“This horrific war crime targeting a grandmother – just one among many carried out by the forces of the far-right Israeli government – proves once again why the case outlining Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice is so important, and why ordinary people from around our nation will be marching for Gaza today in Washington, D.C.,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
He encouraged those concerned about the ongoing genocide in Gaza to take part in today’s March on Washington for Gaza in Washington, D.C.
Speakers at the event, which is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET at Freedom Plaza, include Gazan Al Jazeera journalist Wa’el al-Dahdouh, who lost his wife, his daughter, two sons and a grandchild to Israeli airstrikes; Dr. Cornel West, Jill Stein, Ms. Ilyasah Shabbazz (daughter of Malcolm X), Imam Omar Suleiman, Dr. Osama Aburishaid, CAIR’s Nihad Awad, Colorado state Rep. Iman Jodeh, Code Pink Director Medea Benjamin, and others.
Also today, six Palestinian-American families whose relatives have been killed, injured, displaced or abducted in the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza plan to speak on stage immediately before the start of the March on Washington for Gaza to share their personal stories, call on President Biden to secure a ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, and answer questions. The families are scheduled to speak on stage at 12 p.m. eastern before the formal rally and march begins.
Yesterday, organizers of the March on Washington for Gaza and 80 Muslim American, Arab-American, and Palestinian-American organizations sent a letter to President Biden that urges him to stop supporting the Israeli government’s war crimes in Gaza and warns that his policy on Gaza has “severely” damaged his relationship with their communities.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com