Rana's little brother kisses her goodbye. (AFP)

By Mustafa el-Sawwaf, IOL Correspondent

GAZA CITY, December 13 (IslamOnline.net) – The scene is the house of a Palestinian family in Khan Yunis refugee camp, Gaza Strip. The victim is a seven-year old Palestinian girl. The culprit is an Israeli occupation soldier whose bullet went through the girl’s head and continued its bloody way to settle in her father's leg.

When IslamOnline.net’s correspondent visited the house of Rana on Sunday, December 12, blood stains were still covering the dinning chair, table and her bed.

Her family was still in shock three days after the fatal incident that took place on Friday, December 10.

“This is the crime scene,” Rana's father, who refused to listen to doctors' advice to stay in hospital to be able to attend her funeral, told IOL.

Fighting back his tears and leg pains, Rana's father, 50, very cautiously, leads the mourners [or well-wishers, as Palestinians consider their victims martyrs who deserve congratulations], to the broken window to point to the Israeli military post.

“You can still see the traces of the killer bullet that came in through that window while we were having our lunch.”

“Our life is a series of fear and anticipation. They [Israeli soldiers] target all; men, women, children, without discrimination or provocation.”

Rana’s house is about 600 meters away from an Israeli military post guarding the nearby of Naveh Dikalem settlement, west of Khan Yunis.

Firing towards nearby Palestinian houses in the area is, according to residents, “a daily routine.”

Also on Sunday, an Israeli tank opened fire at Tareq Bin Ziad primary school in Khan Yunis refugee camp, injuring eight pupils.

The children, all under the age of seven, were wounded when a shell exploded in the school yard, penetrating a class room window. It was also launched from inside the Naveh Dikalem settlement. ( Click to Watch)

Last Meal

Rana's parents still in shock. (AFP)

Hardly able to talk, Rana's mother told IOL about her beloved daughter's last minutes.

“We were all gathered around the dinning table, having our lunch and welcoming some family members who were visiting us. We heard shots outside. Guests and children panicked, being unfamiliar with our sufferings. We assured them it was something we were used to.

“My husband finished his meal and left to wash his hands. We heard him screaming that he was shot. We all rushed to him to see what happened. But the screams of my daughter  struck our ears.

“She was screaming 'Rana, Rana'. We looked down to see poor Rana thrown on the bed near the dinning table,” the mother, sobbing loudly, recalled, but could not continue.

Her husband had to step in to finish the heartbreaking story.

“Despite my leg injury, I rushed to Rana, realized her face was soaked in blood. I carried her in my arms, rushed her to the nearby Nasser Hospital.

“She was motionless, blood was all over her face and body, but I was still kind of hoping doctors could do something to save her life,” her father cracked at that point and it was only clear fate had already decided something else.

Rana was a second-grade pupil in Khan Younis primary school for refugees.

Thousands of Palestinians bade her farewell in the Martyrs' Graveyard in the refugee camp Friday.

Not the First

This is not the first time a young Palestinian boy or a girl has been killed by bullets of Israeli snipers while at home, in classrooms or at checkpoints.

On Wednesday, October 13, a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl died of her wounds after Israeli occupation troops shot her in the chest while sitting inside a United Nations school in a Gaza refugee camp.

A week earlier, Iman Al-Hams, another Palestinian girl, was riddled with 20 Israeli bullets while on her way to school, smiling and running to join the morning queue.

According to the Web site of Palestinian Health Ministry, some 821 children (less than 18) have been killed by Israeli occupation since the eruption of the occupation on September 28, 2000.