Even though it was not her usual habit, on January 10, seven-year-old Bara’ah woke up at 9 am. Bara’ah used to sleep on the second floor with her aunts, but she did not want to miss having breakfast with her parents. Bara’ah asked her mother to call her father so that they might enjoy a family breakfast together. On her way out the door, an Israeli reconnaissance plane fired its ruthless missile into the gathering neighbors on the street, including Bara’ah’s father. Bara’ah, the gathering men, and thirteen-year-old Bayaan Khalifah were all killed. Bara’ah’s father used to exert great effort so that his precious twins, Bara’ah and Alaa, would be bright students, and so they were. When Bara’ah’s teachers came to offer their condolences, they expressed their deep sorrow for the loss of the most diligent student in the class. As we started the interview with the brokenhearted mother, Alaa was just coming back from school. Seeing her daughter walking through the door alone without Bara’ah, she remembered the sweet times when her precious twins used to return from school together. With eyes full of tears, the poor mother said: ”Bara’ah dreamed of growing up to be a doctor; whenever she found her brother, Mohammad, ill, she would tell me that soon she would be a doctor and be able to treat him.” 

Seven-year-old Bara’ah is gone, and she left her twin with painful memories which are too much for a girl of her young age to handle. Seven-year-old Alaa was utterly devastated by her sister’s death; she still asks her mourning mother: ”Mom, where is Bara’ah? Where did my sister go?” Alaa remembers her dear sister: ”I miss her so much. Bara’ah was my twin and my best friend. I remember how she used to be scared whenever she heard the bombs. She would not eat and would cry and say, “I am scared of death. I am afraid to die!” 

Seven-year-old Bara’ah was emotionally attached to her aunt, Heba; she would tease her mother, and say:”My aunt Heba is my real mother, and you are my aunt.” They would laugh. Her mother says: “My darling daughter was a funny, pretty, and innocent little angel. These merciless criminals murdered my innocent little girl. What did she do to them to deserve such a ruthless death? A few seconds before her death, she was telling me about her new game. I honestly do not know how to live without her…”