AP Middle East news director Karin Laub and Gaza reporter Fares Akram were looking for a way to tell the story of the heavy toll paid by Gaza’s civilians in last month’s war between Israel and Hamas militants, with scores of civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed. As they went through a list of people killed in Israeli airstrikes, they noticed that the youngest and oldest victims came from the same family — the Kawlaks.
Palestinian rescuers pull a survivor from under the rubble of one of al-Kawlak residential buildings following an overnight air strike in Gaza City, May 16, 2021. The single deadliest bombing raid of Israel’s May war with Hamas militants collapsed two of the family’s apartment buildings and killed 22 members of the extended al-Kawlak family, including a 6-month-old boy and his 89-year-old great-grandfather.
AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
Bodies of members of al-Kawlak family lie under the rubble of one of the destroyed residential buildings following deadly overnight Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, May 16, 2021.
AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
Palestinian rescuers pull the body of a woman of al-Kawlak family from under the rubble of one of the family’s destroyed residential buildings following deadly Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, May 16, 2021.
AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
Palestinian rescuers search for survivors under the rubble of one of al-Kawlak family’s destroyed residential buildings following deadly Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, May 16, 2021.
AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
Azzam Al-Kawlak, 42, poses for photo next to the debris of his destroyed home in Gaza City, May 31, 2021. Azzam lost 22 relatives on May 16, in the deadliest air strike during the 11-day war between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel.
AP Photo / Felipe Dana
The family of four generations lived next door to each other in downtown Gaza City, unprepared for the Israeli air raid that came at about 1 a.m. on May 16, causing homes belonging to the family to collapse. The Kawlaks lost 22 members that night — including the 89-year-old family patriarch and his 6-month-old great grandson who had just lost his first tooth. Three young nieces were found dead in a tight embrace, said one of the survivors. Israel said the strike, the single deadliest of the 11-day war, was aimed at Hamas military targets in the crowded Gaza City neighborhood.
Laub and Akram made a series of visits to the family hoping to interview them. At first, they were reluctant, but the AP pair managed to gain their trust, eventually getting an exclusive all-formats interview. Thanks to their efforts, the family shared death certificates of all of the victims, along with photos of the men and children. For cultural reasons, the family chose not to provide photos of the women.
With strong visuals from video journalist Dumitrache and photographers Hamra and Dana, the result was a compelling account of the terrifying night of the bombing, the family’s immense grief and poignant remembrances of lost loved ones.
In photo at left, in Gaza City, May 2021, video journalist Nicolae Dumitrache, standing, and Gaza reporter Fares Akram interview Azzam al-Kawlak, who lost 22 family members in a May 16 Israeli air raid. In photo at right, Karin Laub, right, speaks with Awni al-Kawlak, who shows her death certificates for 22 of his family members killed in the air raid.
AP Photos / Felipe Dana