Kids of Palestine

Yasra was a bright and kind 12-year-old whose biggest dream was to become a doctor helping the people of Gaza. On the morning of October 14, four days after the ceasefire was announced, she told her father that she would quite like to be a bird in paradise. Just hours later, she was killed.

Jumana Abu al-Qumsan had given birth to twins via C-section just four days earlier. That morning, her husband Mohammed stepped out to collect their birth certificates and register them with Gaza's authorities. According to an Associated Press report, early in the war the family had relocated from northern Gaza, following evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military. They found shelter in the al-Qastal neighborhood in east Deir al-Balah. Later that day, neighbors called Mohammed to tell him the house had been bombed. His newborn twins, Ayser and Aysal, were killed along with their mother and grandmother. In a video posted to social media, Mohammed is seen weeping while clutching his twins' birth certificates. His sobbing falters as he stumbles and faints. "I don't know what happened," he told Sky News. "They told me a shell hit the house." He spoke just before being called to the Al-Aqsa Hospital to identify his family.

Nismah was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days into a ceasefire.

Yaqeen Hammad was known for her bright presence on social media, where she often shared videos showing life under siege and war. She did so not with anger or despair, but with a spirit of hope and a deep faith in goodness. In one video, the 11-year-old gestures toward a pot over an open flame: "This is a wartime invention," she explains. "There's no gas, so we cook on wood and use a fan underneath to keep the fire going. In Gaza," she adds with a smile, "nothing is impossible."

Together with her brother Mohammed, Yaqeen volunteered with a local nonprofit called Ouena. She helped deliver food, organized activities for children, and worked to preserve a sense of childhood amid the devastation. Her Instagram account grew to over 100,000 followers, making her a symbol of childhood and a reminder of the joy of life, even in the face of ongoing destruction. On May 23, 2025, Yaqeen was killed in Israeli shelling on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. According to the WAFA news agency, the strike also killed ten others. Yaqeen, who for many had come to represent the human face of Gaza, was mourned across the Arab world – her death once again raising the painful question: is there any space left for childhood in Gaza?

Shot by soldiers after he and other relatives visited the ruins of their homes that had been destroyed by the military, believing the military raid on the camp, carried out as part of Operation Iron Walls, which had been underway since January, had ended. As they tried to leave the area, a military vehicle pulled up, and the soldiers fired at them from a distance of about 50 meters. The military claimed the soldiers fired at suspects who posed a threat. Evacuated to a government hospital in the city of Jenin, where he was pronounced dead. Another minor was killed and two other Palestinians were injured by the soldiers' gunfire.

Shot in the back by soldiers after he threw a stone at an armored vehicle coming from the direction of Route 449. His friend, a minor, who was with him fled the scene after seeing Hamayel fall. Hamayel was evacuated, deceased, in a Palestinian ambulance that arrived at the scene following coordination with the DCO, and pronounced dead at a hospital in the city of Ramallah.

On October 7, 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel earlier that day, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City killed 15 people, including seven children One of them was 12-year-old Awni Eldous, nicknamed "the Engineer" by his family for his fascination with computer games and software. In 2022, Awni launched a YouTube channel in hopes of becoming a gaming influencer. In his first video, he stands excitedly in front of the camera, holding a microphone: "Now, folks, let me introduce myself," he says with a wide smile. "I am Awni Eldous, a Palestinian from Gaza aged 12 years old. The aim of this channel is to reach 100,000 subscribers, or 500,000 – or one million. Thank you for 1,000 subscribers." Behind him, glimpses of life in pre-war Gaza – passersby walking, cars on the street. Awni uploaded gameplay videos, mostly soccer and war games, along with commentary and information about the games and the companies that made them. His aunt, Ala'a Eldous, told the BBC how kind and helpful he was. His dad was a computer engineer, Ala'a said, and Awni would copy his father, "pulling laptops apart and then trying to piece them back together." Awni's dream came true only after his death: his channel now has over 1.5 million subscribers. His original introduction video has since been removed.

Shot and injured in the thigh by Israeli forces who raided the city of Nablus for about twenty hours to arrest a Palestinian, while he was standing in an alley at the entrance to the camp together with his cousin, a minor. A military, Border Police and Shin Bet force raided a house in the city, detonated explosives nearby and arrested its owner. The forces raided the Rafidiya and al-Arabi hospitals searching for the wanted man, who was later arrested. During the raid, clashes broke out in various parts of the city, in which Palestinians threw stones at the forces. While a military jeep and a Border Police jeep were driving, forces fired at people standing at the camp entrance, injuring Mabruk and another Palestinian. A resident carried him on foot to an ambulance waiting nearby. Died of his wounds about three days later at al-Arabi Hospital.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/palestinian-teen-dies-from-israeli-gunfire-wound-/3641874

Jumana was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days into a ceasefire.

Rana Majed Al-Muqayad didn't reach one year of age. Innocent, orphaned, she was unaware of her surroundings. Surely, had she grown up, she would have had many dreams and stories. Rana and her mother, Shaimaa Saleh, were killed in an Israeli bombardment on the Tel al-Zaatar area on October 26, 2023.

Shot by soldiers from an ambush while throwing stones on Highway 60 along with two other minors who were injured, fled, and were evacuated by local residents to ambulances waiting in the nearby village of 'Asirah a-Shamaliyah, which took them to a hospital in the city of Nablus. Locals searching for a-Shaghnubi were unable to get close due to the presence of soldiers, who fired in the air and prevented his evacuation by ambulance. About two hours after the shooting, the Palestinian DCO was informed that a-Shaghnubi had died of his wounds. Israel is holding his body.

Muhammad was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days after a ceasefire was supposed to begin.

Shot by Israel Police officers at Bab al-Silsila (the Gate of the Chain in Temple Mount) in the Old City of Jerusalem. The police claimed he was shot after stabbing and moderately wounding a police officer. Israel is holding his body.

Shot dead by soldiers along with another minor near the Separation Barrier, according to the military after they threw Molotov cocktails at Route 60. In a video published on social media, an ambulance is seen at the site and gunfire is heard. Israel is holding his body.

Anas was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days into a ceasefire.

To help his children cope with Gaza’s frequent power outages, Mohammed Abu Moussa, a radiographer at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, installed solar panels at home so they could keep watching cartoons. That's what his children were doing on October 15 when an airstrike hit their home. Youssef, age 7, was killed when the roof collapsed. His siblings, 13-year-old Jury and 9-year-old Hamed, survived. Their father was on a 24-hour hospital shift when his wife Rawan arrived at the scene. In a video posted on social media, she is seen running through the hospital, frantically searching for her son. When a relative tells her they had seen him, she pleads, "take me to him," then collapses in grief when she learns that Youssef is dead. Mohammed found his son's body in the morgue after rescue workers pulled him from the rubble. "The last time I saw Yousef alive was when he ran to hug me on the doorstep of our home, just before I left for work," he told the BBC. "He kissed me and said goodbye after I had given him some biscuits and bananas. He wanted to be a doctor, maybe because he always saw me going to hospital for work."

Youssef's father, Dr. Mohammad Abu Mousa, was abducted by Israeli occupation forces on February 17, 2024, while on-duty inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis. He has since been released.

Karam was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces.

Ibrahim was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days after a ceasefire was supposed to begin. Witnesses at the hospital noted "Only half of Ibrahim is here. The rest of Ibrahim is in [his mother's] bag."

Shot in the back by soldiers after he threw a stone at an armored vehicle coming from the direction of Route 449. His friend, a minor, who was with him fled the scene after seeing Yusef fall. Yusef was evacuated, deceased, in a Palestinian ambulance that arrived at the scene following coordination with the DCO, and pronounced dead at a hospital in the city of Ramallah.

https://imemc.org/article/israeli-forces-kill-a-child-near-ramallah/

Nasser was in a minivan with his family, who were traveling to inspect their home in Zeitoun after being displaced. The van was bombed by Israeli forces 9 days into a ceasefire.

Shot by soldiers near a roadblock the military had placed near Ibn Sina Hospital to separate the refugee camp from the city of Jenin, while he and other boys were watching camp residents who were trying to return to their homes. The residents tried to visit the site believing the military raid on the camp, carried out as part of Operation Iron Walls, which had been underway since January, had ended. The military claimed the soldiers fired at suspects who posed a threat. Evacuated by local residents, on foot, to Ibn Sina Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another minor was killed and two other Palestinians were injured by the soldiers' gunfire.

Shot by soldiers who climbed onto the roof of a building in the center of the town during clashes that developed after they entered and surrounded a house to arrest a Palestinian. During the clashes, Palestinians threw stones and IEDs at the soldiers. Hushiyeh was trying to cross the road on his way home with his cousin, a minor, when he was shot by the soldiers. He was taken by residents to a nearby ambulance and then to a clinic in the town, where he was pronounced dead.

On 29 January 2024, in Gaza City, Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian child, pleaded over the phone for emergency workers to rescue her from a car riddled with bullets. Her body was found two weeks later, on 10 February, alongside the bodies of six of her family members in the car they drove to flee their neighbourhood as Israeli forces invaded. The bodies of two Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics, missing since the evening of the call when they were dispatched to rescue Hind, were discovered in their ambulance about 50 metres away.

For more information:

• Wikipedia
• Her Name was Hind Foundation

Shot by soldiers who raided a house at the entrance to the town. Naser and two other minors threw stones at the military jeep parked near the house. He was shot and injured and fled into an olive grove, where he fell down. He was taken by paramedics to a hospital in Jenin, where he was pronounced dead. The two other minors fled the site. CCTV footage shows soldiers chasing the youths and firing.

Shot by soldiers while standing on a hill together with four other teens and throwing stones at military vehicles withdrawing from the nearby town of Qabatiyah. Soldiers got out of the vehicles, chased the teens through olive groves and fired at them. The other boys fled toward the town. About an hour after the shooting, paramedics arrived at the site and the soldiers directed them to Hamran's body. They took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Shot by soldiers while participating in clashes at Manara Square in the city center, in which youths threw stones and fired fireworks at the soldiers. The clashes broke out after military and police counterterrorism (Yamam) forces raided a house on a nearby street, interrogated a Palestinian and arrested him. Afterwards, the forces raided another house in the Ein Musbah neighborhood in the northwest of the city and arrested four Palestinian citizens of Israel who had fled to Ramallah on criminal grounds. Evacuated by ambulance to a hospital in the city, where he was pronounced dead.

Ahmed Ibrahim Washah was killed, along with all his family members, when Israeli forces bombed the tents they were living in at the Nuseirat refugee camp 9 days after agreeing to a ceasefire.

Injured by soldiers' gunfire together with two other minors while throwing stones during the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Nablus. Taken by private car to Rafidiya Hospital in the city, where he died of his wounds about three days later. Two other minors were injured by the soldiers' gunfire.

Shot by soldiers who got out of two military vehicles that entered the northern part of the town. Qabha, who was walking along the street, tried to escape when he noticed the soldiers, who called on him to stop, and they began shooting at him. His father arrived and approached him, and soldiers assaulted him, tied his hands, and seated him next to his dying son. For about half an hour, the soldiers prevented an ambulance at the site from evacuating him. Pronounced dead at a medical center in the town.

Shot dead by soldiers along with another minor near the Separation Barrier, according to the military after they threw Molotov cocktails at Route 60. In a video published on social media, an ambulance is seen at the site and gunfire is heard. Israel is holding his body.