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Shehada family strike

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Shehada family strike
Part of the Gaza war and genocide
Rafah is located in the Gaza Strip
Rafah
Rafah
Location within the Gaza Strip
LocationRafah, southern Gaza Strip
Date14 December 2024
Attack type
Airstrike
Deaths30+ Palestinians
Injured10+ Palestinians
Perpetrators Israel Defense Forces

On 14 December 2023, the Israeli Air Forces targeted the house of Abdallah Shehada in Rafah, Gaza Strip. The airstrike killed the retired surgeon and former director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital[1][2] alongside 29 other civilians, including 11 children, seven men and 11 women.[3] At least 10 others were wounded.

Airstrike and casualties

Around noon on Thursday, December 14, an airstrike targeted the home of Abdullah Shehada, a retired surgeon and former director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital,[1][2] as well as his family and others sheltering in it at the time. The strike reportedly killed 29 members of the Shehada family and others sheltering in the building, including 11 children.[3]

According to Amnesty International, "The oldest victim of the attack was Hamdi Abu Daff, a displaced 86-year-old man, and the youngest was Ayla Nasman, aged three months."[4]

Reactions

One relative of the Shehada family, Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib, is a Palestinian-American activist.[5] In March 2024, Alkhatib contributed to an obituary of his uncle, Abdallah Shehada, in The New York Times, writing:

He performed complicated operations on Gaza’s war wounded while running Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah until his retirement. His wife, also a doctor, died of cancer, and he dealt with loneliness by hosting large meals to bring people into his home. [6]

Abdallah's name was remembered in an opinion piece by Israeli Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy in March 2024.[7]

Amnesty International independently researched the attack and found no evidence of a military target inside or near the house. They alleged that this finding raises serious concerns that the attack was directed towards civilians and civilian objects.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Wall of Honour (Killed HCWs Gallary) - Healthcare Workers Watch". 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  2. ^ a b "Fact-finding mission into medically-related violations in the Gaza Strip during 27.12.08- 18.01.09" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b Rosane, Olivia (February 12, 2024). "Israel Is 'Obliterating Entire Families With Total Impunity' in Gaza, Amnesty Finds". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  4. ^ a b "New evidence of unlawful Israeli attacks in Rafah causing mass civilian casualties". Amnesty International. 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  5. ^ Mackinnon, Amy (2025-04-08). "A Palestinian Who Holds Many Truths". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  6. ^ Hubbard, Ben; Leatherby, Lauren; Yazbek, Hiba; Bashir, Abu Bakr; Abdulrahim, Raja; Bubola, Emma (2024-03-02). "Lives Ended in Gaza". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  7. ^ Levy, Gideon. "Every person killed in Gaza has a name". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2025-03-29.