MAPLE GROVE, MINNESOTA: Tariq Hamouda, along with his wife Manal, originates from Palestine and relocated to Minnesota in 2004.
Towards the end of October, the couple received devastating news about the tragic loss of three generations of their family in Gaza, which served as a stark reminder of the war's horrific brutality in Gaza.
Hamouda told CNN that his wife lost four brothers, a sister, and most of their children when two explosions destroyed her family compound on October 19 in the Sheikh Ejleen neighborhood of Gaza City.
Hamouda's family claims that the explosions were caused by Israeli air strikes. Since the Hamas attack of October 7, Israel has launched multiple air strikes on the area.
It has not been confirmed whether the Israel Defense Forces were responsible for the death of the Saqallah (Manal's maiden name) family as the IDF would not comment without knowing the coordinates of the house, which the family refuses to share for fear of reprisal.
A video obtained by CNN from a neighbor of Saqallah shows the charred ruins of the compound, which relatives say used to be three buildings.
Manal’s cousin Eyad Abu Shaban finds it difficult to cope with the loss
“It’s like your whole world stops. It’s not one, two, three, or four – it is 42 members, it’s really hard to cope with,” expressed Manal's cousin Eyad Abu Shaban to CNN.
He further mentioned that the deceased individuals spanned from three months to 77 years of age.
Abu Shaban emphasized that the family consisted entirely of civilians, including many medical professionals. According to Hamouda, they operated Gaza's most extensive network of family-owned eye clinics.
He stated, “We have no Hamas members. They’re just ordinary people: doctors and grandmothers and grandfathers and uncles and aunts and children, I mean, if you want to exterminate Hamas then you should go to the source.”
Maple Grove community shows their support to Tariq Hamouda's family
Local community members congregated at the nearby Brooklyn Park Islamic Center last week to offer prayers for the family.
Hamouda shared that a staff member from Senator Amy Klobuchar's Minnesota office reached out to him, extending condolences and support.
However, Hamouda and Abu Shaban claim that a ceasefire is all they need.
"We’ve never seen in this day and age where the whole world is watching innocent people just being torn apart," Abu Shaban said.
Families, whole families, just wiped off the map, I want everybody to know that the people of Gaza are just like them, they hurt, they bleed, they have families, they have feelings," he added.
Tariq Hamouda mentions that the videos of the conflict inundating social media are extremely distressing, and he explains that his family is still grappling with the aftermath, saying, “I’m still in this nightmare. I haven’t woken up yet.”
