Killing of young siblings at Gaza water point shows seeking life’s essentials now a deadly peril. Karam al-Ghussain, 9, and Lulu, 10, were fetching water from a nearby distribution station when an Israeli strike hit it, and them

Karam and Lulu al-Ghussain were their family’s designated water carriers because it seemed less dangerous than searching for food.

by Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and Emma Graham-Harrison in Jerusalem

Sat 19 Jul 2025 00.00 EDT

Last modified on Sat 19 Jul 2025 00.11 EDT

In Gaza, being a helpful, loving child can be a death sentence. Heba al-Ghussain’s nine-year-old son, Karam, was killed by an Israeli airstrike because he went to fetch water for the family, and her 10-year-old daughter, Lulu, was killed because she went to give Karam a hand.

The siblings were waiting beside a water distribution station, holding jerry cans and buckets, when it was bombed last Sunday, killing six children and four adults and injuring 19 others, mostly children.

Both Lulu and Karam died instantly, torn apart by the force of the blast and so disfigured that their father prevented Heba from seeing their bodies.

“They didn’t allow me to say goodbye or even look at them one last time,” she said. “One of my brothers hugged me, trying to block the scene from me as he cried and tried to comfort me. After that, I don’t remember anything. I lost touch with reality.”

Lulu al-Ghussain (left) with her elder sister.

Lulu’s real name was Lana but her parents rarely used it because her nickname, which means pearl, captured the gentle shine she brought to family life. “She had such a joyful personality, and a heart full of kindness,” Heba said.

Karam was smart, always top of his class until Israeli attacks shut down Gaza’s schools, generous and mature beyond his years. His dad, Ashraf al-Ghussain, called him “abu sharik” or “my partner”, because he seemed “like a man in spirit”.

But he was also enough of a child to be obsessed by a remote-controlled car that he begged his mother to buy. She regrets telling him they needed to save money for food. “I wish I had spent everything I had to buy it for him so he could have played with it before he died.”

Both children also dreamed of the day Israel would lift its blockade of Gaza, so they could taste chocolate, instant noodles and their mum’s best dishes. For Lulu that was the Palestinian chicken dish musakhan, for Karam, shawarma. “They had all kinds of food plans for me to prepare,” Heba said.

Israel imposed a total siege for 11 weeks starting in March that brought Gaza to the brink of famine, and the very limited food, fuel and medical supplies allowed in since May have not relieved extreme hunger.

Unprecedented malnutrition is killing children, and preventing injured people recovering, a British doctor working there said this week.

Trying to get food has been a deadly gamble for months, with more than 800 people killed since late May in near daily attacks by Israeli soldiers using weapons including tank shells and navy cannon to target desperate crowds near food distribution points.

Trying to get clean water is also a struggle... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/19/killing-of-young-siblings-at-gaza-water-point-shows-seeking-lifes-essentials-now-a-deadly-peril?CMP=GTUK_email

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