"Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres as early as November 6, 2023. His statement was harshly criticized by Israel and dismissed as exaggerated by much of the Israeli public and media. In the 21 months since, the number of casualties in Gaza has largely remained on the margins of Israeli media coverage, including the children killed in the war.
In the weeks before the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran, Israel's media had begun to briefly mention these figures, influenced in part by growing global media attention, which has made the issue harder to ignore. But the Iran war pushed any deeper engagement with the deaths in Gaza far to the margins, worldwide and in Israel.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, 17,121 children were killed in Gaza from the start of the war through to June 15. Of these, 937 were infants under the age of 1. Another 4,517 were between the ages of 1 and 5, 6,325 were aged 6 to 12, and the rest – 5,342 – were minors aged between 13 and 17.
This death toll is almost without precedent, particularly given the population size and the war's duration. The IDF's standard response is that it operates in accordance with international law and makes significant efforts to avoid civilian harm.
These are the stories of 28 of the thousands of children who have been killed. They include brothers, sisters and twins. Seeing their faces, and the violently truncated span of their lives, one cannot help but recall Guterres' remark, made more than 600 days ago.
Father Mohammed had just registered their birth when the twins were killed
Twins Ayser and Aysal Abu al-Qumsan, 4 days old | Killed in Deir al-Balah on August 13, 2024
Jumana Abu al-Qumsan had given birth to twins via C-section just four days earlier.
Awni dreamed of a million followers on YouTube
Awni Eldous, age 12 | Killed in Gaza City on October 7, 2023
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
Youssef was killed while watching cartoons with his brother
Youssef Abu Moussa, age 7 | Killed in Khan Yunis on October 15, 2023
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.
The girl who never gave up on the joy of life
Yaqeen Hammad, age 11 | Killed in Deir al-Balah on May 23, 2025
Yaqeen Hammad was known for her bright presence on social media, where she often shared videos showing life under siege and war.
Hind begged for help for more than three hours
Hind Rajab, age 6 | Killed in Gaza City on January 29, 2024
On January 29, Hind Rajab and her family left their home in Tel al-Hawa, following Israeli military orders to evacuate the area.
Saja and Omar were killed with four of their siblings
Siblings Saja and Omar Hawajra, ages 13 and 4 | Killed in Gaza City on October 21, 2023
An airstrike on a residential building in Gaza, just over two weeks into the war, killed nine members of the Hawajra family.
In death, Maria joined her mother and brothers, killed in an airstrike in 2021
Maria Abu Khattab, age 9 | Killed in Gaza City on February 14, 2024
Maria Abu Khattab was killed along with her father, Alaa, when an airstrike hit their car on al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City.
Sham was killed alongside her big brother
Mahmoud and Sham al-Dahdouh, ages 16 and 6 | Killed in Nuseirat refugee camp on October 25, 2023
A strike on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed 16-year-old Mahmoud al-Dahdouh and his 6-year-old sister Sham, along with their mother.
The four sons of the Miqdad family
Brothers Islam, Imad, Yazan and Abd al-Rahman Miqdad, ages 14, 12, 8 and 3 | Killed in Khan Yunis on March 30, 2025
The four Miqdad brothers were killed alongside their grandfather, 68-year-old Imad, when a strike hit the house they were sheltering in, in Khan Yunis.
"May you reach paradise," a relative wrote to mourn them
Twins Amal and Ayloul Salem, age 7 | Killed in Gaza City on December 11, 2023
On December 11, 2023, a series of Israeli airstrikes struck Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, hitting six homes belonging to the Salem family.
Mazen was the most brilliant, Ahmad the bravest
Brothers Mazen and Ahmed Abu Assi, ages 17 and 13 | Killed near Al-Ahli Hospital on October 17, 2023
An explosion near Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, where many displaced civilians had taken shelter, killed brothers Mazen (photographed, right) and Ahmed Abu Assi.
12 years, 3 rounds of IVF, and one airstrike that took everything
Twins Wissam and Naeem Abu Anza, age 5 months | Killed in Rafah on March 3, 2024
Rania Abu Anza became pregnant only after 12 years and three rounds of fertility treatment.
“Soul of my soul," the grandfather mourned
Siblings Tariq and Reem Badwan, ages 5 and 3 | Killed in Nuseirat refugee camp on November 22, 2023
When the war began, Reem and Tariq’s father was in Egypt and unable to return to Gaza. The children and their mother sought shelter in the home of their grandfather, Khaled al-Nabhan, in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The parents are now alone
Siblings Majid, Jury and Souheil Assouri, ages 14 and 12 | Killed in the Church of Saint Porphyrius compound in Gaza City on October 19, 2023
At the start of the war, Gaza’s oldest active church – the historic Church of Saint Porphyrius – became a shelter for hundreds of displaced Palestinians.
Of ten siblings, only one survived
Sisters Eve and Sidra Al-Najjar, ages 7 and 5 months | Killed in Khan Yunis on May 23, 2025
Sisters Eve and Sidra were among ten children in the Al-Najjar family. On May 23, 2025, they were killed along with seven of their siblings in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in Khan Yunis.
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