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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">The Mayor is Dead - Why Israel Killed the Beloved Engineer of Maghazi</h1>April 13, 2024</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Al-Ghamri_MAYOR_PIC.png" alt="" title="Al-Ghamri_MAYOR_PIC" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="408" height="274" style="margin-right: 25px;">
Hatem al-Ghamri, the mayor of the
Maghazi refugee camp, was killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza. (Photo:
via Palestine Information Center)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/abdallah-aljamal" title="Display all articles for Abdallah Aljamal - Gaza">Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza</a></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>Hatem al-Ghamri, the mayor of the Maghazi refugee camp, in
central Gaza, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on April 9. He was an
engineer by profession, and beloved by everyone. </span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><span>The Gaza Government media office slammed the strike as “a war
crime that contravenes international laws that grant immunity and
protection to civilian figures”.</span></p>
<p><span>According to the office, al-Ghamri was the head of an emergency
committee dedicated to maintaining public order and civil control in
Gaza.</span></p>
<p><span>Al-Ghamri is one of many civilian officers who were killed in Israel’s genocidal war against the besieged Gaza Strip. </span></p>
<p><span>The Palestine Chronicle spoke with residents of the camp or
displaced Palestinians who are currently living in Maghazi, to better
understand the implications of Israeli actions and the reactions among
the civilian population. </span></p>
<h4><b>He Helped Everybody</b></h4>
<p><span>“The mayor of Maghazi, Engineer Hatem Al-Ghamri, was killed
when Israeli occupation forces bombed a civilian building belonging to
the municipality,” Mohammed al-Ayedi told The Palestine Chronicle.</span></p>
<p><span>“Since the first day of the war, the mayor has been working to
provide relief services to tens of thousands of displaced people who
sought refuge in the camp,” al-Ayedi continued. </span></p>
<p><span>“He directly supervised the central emergency committee of the
camp and continued to work diligently until the day of his martyrdom.
Indeed, he was killed while fulfilling his mission providing relief to
the displaced,” he added.</span></p>
<p><span>According to al-Ayedi, al-Ghamri was one of the most beloved people in the camp. </span></p>
<p><span>“He was chosen unanimously by the residents to head the municipality. He was always available for everybody,” he said. </span></p>
<h4><b>Worked Tirelessly</b></h4>
<p><span>The Maghazi camp, along with the area south of the Gaza Valley,
was declared a ‘safe zone’ by the Israeli occupation. Therefore,
thousands of people flocked to it seeking shelter from the deadly
Israeli war. </span></p>
<p><span>“Our house was bombed during the first days of the war, but the
Al-Maghazi municipality, under the direct supervision of its mayor,
worked to accommodate us in shelters and provided relief services,”
Mohammed Abu Nasr told the Palestine Chronicle.</span></p>
<p><span>“Al-Ghamri worked tirelessly to aid people throughout the war,” he continued. </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span>“I saw him in bombarded areas, in shelters,
supervising road repairs, sewage system maintenance, and ensuring water
supply for citizens through all available means. He was a respectable
man and the community is going to miss him.”</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/war-torn-gaza-families-separated-in-israels-ongoing-genocide/">https://www.palestinechronicle.com/war-torn-gaza-families-separated-in-israels-ongoing-genocide/</a></p></blockquote>
<h4><b>Will Be Missed</b></h4>
<p><span>Um Ashraf Abu Awad is a resident of the camp. When Israeli
occupation forces invaded the central region of the Strip, she left with
her family and headed to a displacement camp in Rafah. They returned a
month later, only to find that the Maghazi camp had been devastated by
Israeli forces. </span></p>
<p><span>“We returned to an area we did not recognize,” Abu Awad told us. </span></p>
<p><span>“These were not the homes we lived in, nor were these the
familiar streets we knew. The occupation completely destroyed entire
streets. The amount of destruction in the camp is indescribable,” she
continued.</span></p>
<p><span>Amid chaos and destruction, however, one person provided a glimpse of hope. </span></p>
<p><span>“The mayor was everywhere, in all the places designated for aiding the displaced in Al-Maghazi camp,” Abu Awad said.</span></p>
<p><span>“He was a beacon of activity and vitality, overseeing relief
efforts day and night. He was very close to the people, he listened to
them, trying to solve their problems, and attempting to provide their
basic life necessities,,” she added.</span></p>
<p><span>According to Abu Awad, the Israeli occupation did not like the
people’s affection for the mayor of Al-Maghazi, and the fact that he did
not give up on his mission to serve the people of Gaza. </span></p>
<p><span>“They bombed him while he was providing aid to the displaced
people in the camp. He is another victim of Israel’s attack on all
humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip,” Abu Awad explained.</span></p>
<p><span>“We have lost more than half of the homes and infrastructure in
Al-Maghazi camp, but we will rebuild them one day. However, we cannot
compensate for the loss of our mayor,” she said. </span></p>
<p><span>“We will miss him greatly, as will all the displaced and the grieving Palestinians in the camp.” </span></p>
<p><span>Israel has killed numerous doctors, medics, civil defense
workers, police officers, aid distribution volunteers, and others, all
with the aim of destroying all aspects of life and recovery in Gaza. </span></p>
<p><span>According to the United Nations, prior to the killing of the
six internationals, Israel had already killed 196 humanitarian aid
workers.</span></p>
<p><span>Moreover, according to an April 4 report by Euro-Med Human
Rights Monitor, Israel has also targeted and killed 41 police officers
while working with volunteers from various Gaza clans to help the UN
refugee agency, UNRWA, distribute humanitarian aid. Even the members of
the clans themselves were targeted in Israeli bombardments.</span></p>
<p><i><span>(The Palestine Chronicle)</span></i></p>
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<p><br></p>
<p><span>–<i> Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle in the Gaza Strip.</i></span></p></div>
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