Franklin man loses 32 relatives in Gaza airstrike. A beloved aunt and an infant are among the dead.

Earlier this week, the Journal Sentinel reported on a Franklin man whose relatives in Gaza told him they were "waiting for their turn" to be killed in an airstrike, and had given up hope of surviving the war.

Esam Sakalla learned early Tuesday, just after midnight, that their premonition had come true.

An airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed at least 32 members of Sakalla's family, including an infant and a beloved aunt, he said.

"This tragedy has left us in a state of unparalleled grief and pain. Words cannot adequately express the depths of our sorrow and devastation as we mourn the loss of our family members. Every day, the situation gets worse," Sakalla wrote in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

His concerns about surviving family members have deepened. They sent Sakalla news of the deaths in a text message.

Sakalla's aunt, Nadia Sakalla, was in her 70s. Because his own mother died when he was a teenager, Nadia was like a mother to him. She was praying when she was killed, Sakalla said.

Sakalla's cousin, his wife and their three children — ages 10, 8, and 4 months — were killed in an airstrike that destroyed a four-story building where many relatives had been taking shelter.

"Those who survived were traumatized not only by the explosion but also by what they had to see afterwards. The devastation was so severe that it made identifying their remains an extremely difficult task," Sakalla wrote. "Their accounts were too gruesome to retell."

So far, the remains of 32 of Sakalla's relatives have been identified, but the number could rise, he said.

Surviving relatives "do not have time to mourn," Sakalla wrote. "Their immediate concern is to survive. However, they have no hope that there is any place in Gaza that is safe. If they are spared from Israeli aerial bombardment, they fear a slow and painful death as food, water, medical care, and sanitation deteriorate."

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Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel have devastated parts of Gaza, leaving neighborhoods in rubble.

Sakalla's relatives have described grim conditions in Gaza as the health care system collapses and food, water, and medicine become scarce. Those who die quickly are the fortunate ones, one relative told him.

"The constant roar of bombs and airstrikes makes sleep impossible, keeping everyone in a perpetual state of terror," he wrote. "They tell us the air is thick with the smell of death emanating from the ruins of collapsed buildings."

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, a number that could not be independently verified. It was not known if the count included any militants. The fighting has killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, according to Israeli officials, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas attack. About 222 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, its military said.

The U.S. and European Union have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Palestinian officials also have said they are running out of fuel to power hospitals and other emergency needs. The Israel Defense Forces said the problem is not a lack of fuel in Gaza, but that it is in the hands of Hamas.

Israel continues to prepare for a ground incursion into Gaza in an attempt to once-and-for-all rid the land of Hamas. Gaza is a densely populated, narrow strip of territory with 2.3 million residents that has been governed by Hamas since 2007.

Nadia Sakalla's home in the Gaza City neighborhood of Rimal was destroyed in an airstrike two weeks ago. When the Israeli military told people to evacuate the north, the family moved to Khan Younis in the south, where they hoped they would be safe. But Israel has continued to strike there.

"They were innocent civilians, like the thousands of other Palestinian civilians slain. Their only 'crime' was living in Gaza," he continued.

Their deaths follow the news last week that six families, or about 30 to 35 people, distantly related to Sakalla were killed in a strike.

Even as prominent leaders speak out on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it only has worsened, he said. A handful of aid trucks have entered the territory in recent days, a small fraction of what U.N. officials say is needed.

"We cry every day for their ordeal. We feel completely helpless," he said. "There is nothing here we can do other than tell their stories and hope that our country recognizes the humanity of Palestinians and pushes our leaders to action to stop this carnage."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area man's family killed in Gaza strike in Israel-Hamas war