The tragic story of a Palestinian mother's vigil over the bodies of her four sons killed by Israeli fire is to be presented by the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the hope that it will be "used as an exemplar case for ongoing investigations into war crimes in Gaza".
In February 2024, the Al-Aweini family, sheltering in their makeshift home in the grounds of the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, were, without warning, attacked by an Israeli quadcopter drone. The drone then hovered, recording the scene from close range, before launching a barrage of fragmentation munitions. The father and one of his adult sons were the most severely injured. The other sons attempted to carry them the 100 yards to the hospital entrance, but Israeli snipers on the hospital rooftop opened fire. Four of the sons were struck and collapsed in the street.
.
Their mother, Tahani Hamdan, tried to reach the hospital door for help. She was shot in the leg but kept running through back streets. She was forced to remain inside the hospital while snipers targeted anyone trying to help and ambulances were turned back. Tahani's sons slowly bled to death.
For four more days she kept a vigil from afar over her sons' bodies. "All I could do" she said later "was to pray that stray dogs and cats did not reach them. All I wanted was for them to be buried with dignity".
The Euro-Med investigators have used geospatial analysis tools, topographical maps, and have examined sightlines from nearby elevated structures to assess possible firing angles, comparing them with the injury sites. They have meticulously recorded testimonies from the survivors and from doctors at the hospital.
The investigators have formally called on the ICC prosecutor "to incorporate the systematic targeting of the Al-Aweini family into broader accountability frameworks, classifying the sequence of events as evidence of severe violations of international law and indicators of systematic targeting of civilians".
They add: "This case reflects a broader pattern of neighbourhoods being transformed into 'killing zones' where everyone present is treated as a potential target".