While the most densely populated area in the world was under a brutal assault, the voices of those who were suffering were being muted. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli government barred journalists from entering Gaza during the conflict, despite the rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court and demands by journalists to be let in. It wasn’t until after the conflict had ended that journalists were able to view the extent of the destruction.
What happened to the Samounis family, a family of farmers in Gaza, is just one of the many stories that reflect the terror inflicted on Gazans. Forty-eight members of the Samounis family were killed while seeking refuge in areas that the Israeli army advised them to move to. Not only were 12 of the Samounis’ houses reduced to rubble, but also, according to the Guardian, graffiti on the walls of the houses that the Israeli army used as a base were found reading, “Arabs need 2 die,” “Die you all,” “Make war not peace,” and “1 is down, 999,999 to go.” On another drawn image of a gravestone, soldiers wrote, “Arabs 1948-2009.”
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