Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul

Their life

Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul was a 65-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza City, a matriarch in her family and a figure of quiet strength who lived through decades of hardship, conflict, and displacement. Married and deeply rooted in her community, Najah resided in Al-Shati (Beach) Refugee Camp—a densely populated area west of Gaza City that has long been a symbol of the enduring Palestinian struggle for dignity and survival. Her life spanned some of the most turbulent chapters in Palestinian history, marked by siege, war, and loss. Despite it all, Najah remained steadfast in her role as a caregiver and guide to her family, embodying resilience in the face of relentless adversity.

Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul was a 65-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza City, a matriarch in her family and a figure of quiet strength who lived through decades of hardship, conflict, and displacement. Married and deeply rooted in her community, Najah resided in Al-Shati (Beach) Refugee Camp—a densely populated area west of Gaza City that has long been a symbol of the enduring Palestinian struggle for dignity and survival. Her life spanned some of the most turbulent chapters in Palestinian history, marked by siege, war, and loss. Despite it all, Najah remained steadfast in her role as a caregiver and guide to her family, embodying resilience in the face of relentless adversity.

On October 28, 2023, Najah was killed in a devastating airstrike launched by Israeli warplanes, which targeted the Al-Ghoul family home in Al-Shati Refugee Camp. The house, at the time, was sheltering not only immediate family members but also several displaced families who had fled other parts of Gaza seeking refuge. The attack cam

How they died

Killed by Israel Airstrike

Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul, a 65-year-old Palestinian woman, was killed on October 28, 2023, when Israeli occupation aircraft launched a direct airstrike on the Al-Ghoul family home in Al-Shati (Beach) Refugee Camp in Gaza City. The strike came without prior warning, a tactic that has increasingly characterized the broader military campaign in Gaza, where entire residential buildings are leveled in seconds, often while families are inside.

At the time of the attack, Najah was inside the home, which was serving as a shelter not only for her immediate family but also for several displaced persons who had fled bombardments elsewhere. The missile strike resulted in the total destruction of the building, causing the structure to collapse upon its residents. Najah likely died instantly or within moments, as a result of massive blunt force trauma, crushing injuries from the building’s collapse, or blast-related injuries such as internal hemorrhaging or asphyxiation caused by dust and debris.

A plea from the family

Following the tragic airstrike that took the life of 65-year-old Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul on October 28, 2023, her surviving relatives were left devastated, struggling not only with grief but with the trauma of witnessing the violent loss of their beloved elder. Amid the rubble of the Al-Ghoul family home in Al-Shati Refugee Camp, relatives and neighbors made impassioned pleas to the international community, demanding attention, justice, and an end to the relentless bombing of civilian areas in Gaza. One surviving son, his voice breaking as he stood beside the ruins of their multigenerational home, cried out: "She survived wars, she raised generations, and she died under the roof where she once cooked and prayed for peace. What kind of justice allows a grandmother to be buried alive in her own home without warning?" Another relative, injured but alive, called on human rights organizations to remember that Najah was not a number or statistic. "She was the heart of this family. She taught us how to endure.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Najah Khaled Salem Al-Ghoul, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources