Reportage
Fadi and Jumaa’, two children executed for crossing an imaginary Israeli line
Fadi and Jumaa’, aged eight and ten, returned home wrapped in white shrouds. “Suspects eliminated” is how the Israeli army described the killing in its statement.
On Saturday morning, Fadi and Jumaa’ Tamer Abu Asi ventured onto the torn-up streets of Bani Suhaila, in Khan Younis, in search of some firewood. Not to keep warm in Gaza’s already unbearable winter, but to sell it. With the money, the family would have bought food and clothes for their father, who is confined to a wheelchair: the next day he was due at the hospital for a check-up.
Fadi and Jumaa’, aged eight and ten, returned home wrapped in white shrouds. They were killed by an Israeli drone, one of those that have been fueling Gaza’s nightmares at night and threatening their survival during the day for months. The Israeli army gave its justification: the two had allegedly crossed the “Yellow Line” – a vague, movable and not clearly identified border that separates the western part of the Strip from the eastern part. It is a line drawn in the minds of the Israeli authorities; sometimes, concrete blocks painted yellow mark it on the ground.
According to the United Nations and NGOs on the ground, the line is not fixed; it is advancing. Thus, in the few weeks since the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements, this umpteenth unilateral border drawn by Israel – a literal frontier between life and death – has moved closer and closer to the coast: initially it rendered 53% of Gaza off limits; today it has reached almost 60%.
Fadi and Jumaa’ probably had no idea they had crossed the “border.” They posed no threat to the occupying army, nor to the soldiers who remotely control those drones which come with incessant buzzing (when one is lucky) and bomb explosions (when one isn’t), terrorizing an entire population.
It is very likely the army knew they were two children. Quadcopters are not blind; they have cameras to see with. “Suspects eliminated” is how the Israeli army described the killing in its statement. The armed forces press office added that the victims were “conducting suspicious activities.” “They are children... what did they do? They don’t have missiles, they don’t have bombs,” sobbed their uncle Mohamed at the funeral.
The Yellow Line is not there, it cannot be seen, yet it kills and maims. On Saturday, three more Palestinians were hit northeast of Khan Younis. It will continue to do so, in much greater numbers, when the Israeli-U.S. “reconstruction” operation begins. According to Trump and Netanyahu’s plans, the western strip of Gaza will be left in ruins, because reconstruction will occur only in the eastern zone under Israeli army control. This will take place in the so-called “Alternate Safe Communities,” which have been reported on in recent weeks by U.S. investigative journalists. The latest report, from Al Jazeera, dates from Thursday: a source told the Qatari broadcaster that the U.S. State Department had approved the plan, calling it “the fastest way to move people to safe housing.”
Not many people, however: there is talk of a few communities of 20,000 to 25,000 people to be crammed into containers, all of whom must be pre-authorized by Israeli intelligence. There is currently no mention of water or electricity infrastructure or job opportunities in the plan: only “residential areas” with a school and a clinic.
The sources cited by Al Jazeera speak of costs – for the first compound alone – amounting to tens of millions of dollars. No one knows who will actually pay: there is no clarity on this either. Meanwhile, Gaza has exceeded the official and verified death toll of 70,000 since October 7, 2023 – a number that a number of research institutes consider to be greatly underestimated.
Two walls away, the silent ethnic cleansing of Palestinians continues in the West Bank. On Saturday, with the city of Tubas in its fourth day of total siege by the Israeli army and 166 people injured by beatings in the streets, settlers were taking part in an escalation of ever-increasing violence. In Khallet al-Louza, a village on the outskirts of Bethlehem, they attacked a group of Palestinians and then opened fire with automatic weapons.
A young woman was wounded in the side by a bullet, and ten others were injured by beatings and stones thrown. Shortly afterwards, the army arrived: no arrests were made, but the area was declared a “military zone.” It is unlikely that this designation will be changed in the future; from now on, Palestinians will be denied access – a de facto confiscation.
There is no prospect of punishment on the horizon, not even for the three border police officers responsible on Thursday for the execution of two Palestinians in Jenin – 26-year-old Montasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yusuf Asasa – which was captured on video. Questioned by the Ministry of Justice, they claimed self-defense because one of the two had allegedly attempted to flee. The footage tells a different story: they were kneeling on the ground with their hands up, then were shot in cold blood.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/fadi-e-jumaa-due-bambini-palestinesi-uccisi-dal-confine-inventato on 2025-11-30