Neighbors said he was hit by an Israeli rocket in the first of three days of violence in the area. Doctors said he was unlikely to survive. Another victim of an incurable conflict that no one seems to be able to resolve. We ran into his funeral procession shortly after arriving in Gaza. The 44-year-old had died from extensive shrapnel wounds the previous night. Mourners praised God and called for vengeance as they waved the flags of rival political factions, Hamas and Fatah. Image: Both Fatah and Hamas flags were visible at Ibrahim Abu Salah’s funeral The funeral also gave them an opportunity to express their frustration and anger at a solid strip of land that has been blocked by Israelis for 15 years They say Gaza is an open-air prison – and it has suffered the loss of yet another prisoner. At least 49 have been killed in fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group. It began with a series of “preemptive” Israeli airstrikes, which were supposed to destroy the militants’ ability to launch attacks. Islamic Jihad fired about 1,100 rockets in response. Israel reported no deaths or serious injuries. Image: Ibrahim Abu Salah’s wife, Lobna, said she was not interested in the conflict We went to meet members of Abu Salah’s family on the day of his funeral and they told us that he is not interested in the conflict. His wife Lobna looked bewildered, telling us that her husband had just gone to get some air in the afternoon heat. “It’s hot and there’s no electricity,” he said. “He was trying to escape the heat, sitting under a tree for some air. A missile from a drone hit him and our neighbor. (They are) witnesses.” Picture: The scene where Ibrahim Abu Salah was beaten was full of sharps, his neighbors say The family’s battered-looking home is just meters from the Israeli-imposed “no-go” security zone on the Gaza border. The Israelis may have mistaken her husband for a member of the militia, Lobna said, as she sat under a collection of lebbeck trees. In an aerial video of the attack released by the Israeli military, an official said militants were using the site to install rocket launchers. Image: Israeli footage shows the site of the explosion Abu Salah leaves behind four children who will be forced to fend for themselves. Their father was unemployed when he died, like more than half of Gaza’s population. This is the story of Gaza, said the neighbor, Am Ahad Hamed. “If you see (Abu Salah’s) children, it will break your heart and make a stone cry,” he said. “We are living a life not worth living. We need someone to solve the Palestinian crisis so we can live like people of other nations. Other nationalities have a good life, enjoy their childhood. Our children have no life.” Image: Emotion erupted at Ibrahim Abu Salah’s funeral During a three-day commemoration for Ibrahim Abu Salah, mourners said a place in heaven awaited him. In Gaza, residents know that violence will return.
