Newborn twins killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza as father collects birth certificates

Mohammad Al Qumsan lost his wife, her mother and twin babies in the strike

Mohammad Al Qumsan shows the birth certificates of his newborn twins, after learning that they, his wife and her mother had been killed in a Israeli strike on Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza. Getty ImaShow more

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Twin babies have been killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza while their father went to collect their birth certificates in another tragic day of war, as the death toll in Gaza approaches 40,000.

Video purportedly taken at a hospital in the central city of Deir Al Balah shows Mohammad Al Qumsan in shock, holding the laminated birth certificates for four-day-old Aysal and Aser.

Mr Al Qumsan had been to register his newborns' births when an air strike killed his wife and babies, as well as their maternal grandmother. A neighbour called him at a local government office to inform him of the tragedy.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. "I am told it was a shell that hit the house.”

The twins' mother, pharmacist Joumana Arafa, had just announced the birth of her baby boy and girl on Facebook. Now her husband will be obtaining death certificates for their family.

The family had already fled their home in Gaza city on instructions from the Israeli military, taking shelter in a temporary home in Deir Al Balah.

The Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which began after a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 250 Israeli hostages being taken, is taking a heavy toll on the strip's children. The Health Ministry in Gaza said 115 newborns have been killed in the territory since the war began.

Gaza's Health Ministry announced on Tuesday the death toll had reached more than 39,900, with more than 92,000 injured. Deaths in the occupied West Bank take the total number of Palestinians killed since October 7 to more than 40,000.

Many who survive the bombing are left without parents or any family members. All are at risk of disease, for which there is little treatment as aid continues to be blocked by Israel.

"A child with a disease in the Gaza Strip has been handed a sentence of a slow death because he cannot receive the treatment he needs, and he is unlikely to survive long enough to make it out," Unicef communications officer Salim Oweis said last week.

"Their only hope of survival is a ceasefire. The children of Gaza are still clinging to the belief that this day will come, and Unicef shares this hope. Achieving a ceasefire is still possible, more necessary now than ever and way overdue, and everyone must do everything in their power to advocate for it."

Ceasefire talks planned for this week will likely not include Hamas, who demanded Israel pause military action in Gaza during the length of any negotiations, sources told The National on Monday.