Less than two weeks before his daughter’s wedding, Khalil al-Masri set out with his eldest son to complete what should have been one of the family's happiest final preparations: paying for and confirming the reservation of the wedding dress she had chosen at a shop in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood.
With the reservation confirmed, the two stopped at a nearby sweet shop to celebrate, where they met two friends. As they sat together at a table outside the shop, a live bullet pierced Masri’s head, leaving him unconscious as his son and friends watched in horror.
The 43-year-old father of seven was rushed to the al-Shifa Hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds the following day, on 14 June.
“It was a complete shock. He was very happy and laughing with his friends. He ordered a dessert, but the bullet penetrated his head before the order was served,” Masri’s brother, Mahmoud, told Middle East Eye.
“The wedding was turned into a funeral.”
