Nagham Eyad Abdul Fattah Salha
Killed by an Israeli missile strike on her home while eating dinner with her family.
Nagham was killed when an Israeli missile directly hit her family’s home in Deir al-Balah. The missile strike occurred as she sat with her parents during dinner in their kitchen. The force of the explosion caused instant death to all three family members: Nagham, her pregnant mother Amani, and her disabled father Eyad. The family had no warning and no chance to survive. The strike was part of a broader pattern of Israeli shelling that day, targeting residential areas across the Gaza Strip.
Biography
Nagham Eyad Salha was a 2-year-old Palestinian toddler from Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. On May 19, 2021, she was tragically killed alongside her 33-year-old wheelchair-bound father, Eyad Abdul-Fattah Salha, and her mother, Amani Yousef Mohawesh, who was seven months pregnant. The family was sitting in their kitchen, eating dinner, when an Israeli missile struck their home, killing them instantly. The attack, which devastated the household, left no survivors from the immediate family. Nagham’s young life was taken before it had the chance to fully begin, and her death came to symbolize the brutal toll of war on innocent civilians, especially children.
Nagham Eyad Salha, just 2 years old, was the only child of Eyad Abdul-Fattah Salha and Amani Yousef Mohawesh. She lived with her parents in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Her father was wheelchair-bound due to a disability, and her mother was seven months pregnant with their second child. On the evening of May 19, 2021, the small family was gathered in the kitchen of their home, sharing a quiet dinner, when an Israeli missile suddenly struck the house.
The explosion killed Nagham, her father Eyad, and her pregnant mother Amani instantly. Eyad’s brother, grieving deeply, asked: “What do they think he was doing, firing missiles from his wheelchair?” expressing the pain and disbelief of losing an entire family in an instant. The strike obliterated their lives and dreams, leaving only fragments and sorrow behind.
The family was among hundreds of civilians killed during Israel’s offensive on Gaza in May 2021. That day alone, 227 Palestinians were reported killed, including 64 children. Nagham, like so many other innocent victims, was not involved in any conflict—she was simply a child in her home. Her murder stands as a haunting reminder of the indiscriminate violence of war and its impact on the most vulnerable.
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
In the aftermath of the strike, relatives of the Salha family spoke out in anguish and disbelief. Eyad's brother, overwhelmed with grief, said:
“They were just sitting in their home and eating. What threat was a man in a wheelchair? What crime did a child and a pregnant woman commit? They were blown apart while having dinner in their own kitchen. How is this justified?”
Additional Information
Sources & References
Nagham Eyad Salha, 2, was killed by Israeli missiles in her home in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, along with her wheelchair bound father, Eyad Abdul-Fattah Salha, 33, and her 7 months pregnant mother, Amani Yousef Mohawesh, 33. “They were just sitting and their home and eating,” Eyad, her uncle brother said, “What do they [Israel] think he was doing, firing missiles from his wheelchair?! What did he, his pregnant wife, and their daughter, do to be mutilated like this?!”1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source