Ibrahim Yousef al-Masri

Their life

Ibrahim Yousef Atallah al-Masri was a 10-year-old Palestinian boy from Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza. He was a loving child, growing up among his siblings and extended family, known for his innocence and bright spirit. Like many children in Gaza, his short life was shaped by hardship, but also by the warmth of his family home. Ibrahim was killed on May 10, 2021, when an Israeli airstrike destroyed his house, taking his life and the lives of several of his relatives.

Born in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, Ibrahim Yousef Atallah al-Masri lived with his parents, siblings, and extended family. At just 10 years old, he was in the early stages of childhood, likely attending local school and dreaming of a safe, happy future, though life under blockade and repeated escalations left little room for stability. Ibrahim shared a close bond with his siblings Marwan, Rahaf, and baby Yazin, all of whom were killed alongside him in the same strike, as well as his cousin Ahmad. The al-Masri family home was a symbol of safety and togetherness, but it became a site of tragedy when Israeli jets fired two missiles directly into it on May 10, 2021. Ibrahim’s life was cut short before he could experience the world beyond Gaza, remembered by those who loved him as one of the many children whose lives were unjustly taken.

How they died

Ibrahim was killed in an Israeli airstrike when two missiles struck his family home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on May 10, 2021.

On May 10, 2021, Israeli warplanes launched intense bombardments across the Gaza Strip. Among the many targets was the al-Masri family home in Beit Hanoun. Two missiles directly struck the house, collapsing the structure on its residents. Ibrahim, only 10 years old, was among the victims who were killed instantly, along with his brothers Marwan and Yazin, his cousin Ahmad, and his relative Rahaf. The destruction left surviving relatives and neighbors to pull the bodies from the rubble. His death was part of a wider escalation that day, which killed at least 20 Palestinians, including 9 children, and injured 95 others.

A plea from the family

Relatives of the al-Masri family wept as they stood among the rubble of their destroyed home in Beit Hanoun. One surviving family member cried out: “How can the world stay silent while our children are killed in their beds? Ibrahim was only ten… he had dreams like any child. He wanted to live, to play, to go to school. Instead, he was buried under rubble with his brothers and sister. Why must our family pay this price again and again?” Another cousin, holding the scorched remains of a child’s schoolbook, pleaded: “They tell us this is war, but why are the children always the first to die? Yazin was just a baby, Ibrahim was still a boy, Rahaf never even had the chance to grow. We beg the world to open its eyes and stop these crimes before more families are erased.” The extended al-Masri relatives appealed to the international community, saying that they did not want revenge, only protection and justice: “We are asking — as human beings, as parents, as brothers and sisters — let the children of Gaza live. Do not let their names become just numbers. Remember Ibrahim, remember his smile.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Ibrahim Yousef al-Masri, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources