A mother and her three daughters, who were pupils at Türkiye’s Maarif Foundation schools in Gambia, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon’s south on Sept. 23, a report said.
The family, identified as mother Mona Katbay and her daughters, Zeina (9), Zahraa (5) and Banin (4), were in southern Lebanon to attend the funeral of a family member when the Israeli strike targeted them in the Hanouiyeh region, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. The father Muhammad Katbay stayed in Gambia, the report said.
The deceased woman’s friends noted that they spoke with her shortly before they got killed, and she had to hang up to tend to her daughters who were frightened by the sounds of bombs.
The three sisters attended the Turkish Maarif Foundation school in Gambia and attended its inauguration ceremony back in January 2020.
First Lady Emine Erdoğan, who also attended the inauguration and took a photo with the family, issued a message of condolences.
“Those who close their eyes to pain bear the traces of oppression,” Erdoğan said, as she expressed condolences to the family for their tragic loss due to Israeli attacks.
She continued by saying that she hopes that the perpetrators of the atrocities, which not only destroy a family but also the sense of honor, justice and compassion, are held accountable for their crimes.
Tensions between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah have steadily escalated over the last 11 months. Hezbollah has been firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and its ally Hamas.
Israel has responded with increasingly heavy airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders while threatening a wider operation.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 564 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Monday, including 50 children and 94 women, and that more than 1,800 have been wounded - a staggering toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.
