buffer zone widow

*Mahmoud’s father Anwar was shot in the head on January 27th by Israeli soldiers east of Gaza.

In February, exactly one month after Israel declared (and ignored) a ‘cease-fire’ on Gaza following the massacre of nearly 1500 Palestinians, Israeli soldiers along the Green Line –and roughly 500m away away from their target —shot Mohammed al-Buraim**, a 20 year old from the Khan Younis region, in the ankle while he worked on farmland.

Al-Buraim comes from a family of 15 children (8 boys, 7 girls), among whom 4 are deaf, including Mohammed. By working as hired labour on farmland, Mohammed had been contributing to his family’s insufficient income. After he was shot, Mohammed stopped working, out of necessity (he was shot in the ankle) and out of fear (his cousin Anwar had been killed just weeks earlier in the same region, also shot by Israeli soldiers).

Anwar al-Buraim (27), living around the corner from Mohammed’s family, was married with 2 young children, Mohammed (just under 3 years old) and Mahmoud (~ 2 years old). Anwar was shot and killed on January 27th, leaving behind a widow and his elderly parents, including his disabled father.

Both families are quite poor.

Anwar’s mother can’t be blamed for questioning the use of telling their story. “So what if people know about my son, then what? Nothing will change. We’ve been living under attack for over 60 years.”

With her son dead for only just over 5 months, and their poverty continuing, her skepticism wasn’t surprising.

**note: al-Buraim is also found transliterated as al-Ibrim

*one of Mohammed’s 14 sibilings.