Islam Hasan Mohammad Attar

Their life

Islam Hasan Mohammad Attar, 8, was killed on May 14, 2021, when Israeli warplanes bombed his family’s home in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip. He died alongside his mother, Lamia’ Hasan al-‘Attar (27), his sister Amira (7), and his baby brother Mohammed “Zain al-Dein” (8 months). The missile strike completely leveled their home. The attack was part of a wave of intense Israeli bombardments that struck agricultural land, houses, and civilian areas across northern Gaza, killing 44 Palestinians that day, including 13 women and 14 children.

Islam Hasan Mohammad Attar was an 8-year-old boy from Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. He lived with his mother, Lamia’ Hasan al-‘Attar, and his two younger siblings, Amira (7) and Mohammed “Zain al-Dein” (just 8 months old). On May 14, 2021, their lives were cut short when Israeli warplanes bombed agricultural land near a three-story house belonging to members of the extended al-‘Attar family, in the street between the al-‘Atatrah and al-Salatin neighborhoods. The missile strike destroyed the home, killing Lamia’ and all three of her children instantly.

That day marked one of the deadliest nights of the May 2021 escalation. Israel deployed 160 warplanes, artillery, and naval forces in a massive assault that unleashed 450 missiles and shells within 40 minutes. The bombardment devastated Gaza’s northern neighborhoods, destroyed homes, roads, and infrastructure, and left thousands displaced. Among the 44 Palestinians killed on May 14th were multiple families wiped out almost entirely, including the al-T

How they died

He was Killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted agricultural land near his home in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 14, 2021.

Islam Hasan Mohammad Attar was killed on May 14, 2021, when Israeli warplanes bombed agricultural land near his family’s home in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip. The missile strike leveled the three-story house where he lived with his mother and siblings. The force of the explosion caused the building to collapse instantly, crushing those inside. Islam died alongside his mother, Lamia’ Hasan al-‘Attar (27), his sister Amira (7), and his baby brother Mohammed “Zain al-Dein” (8 months old).

Medical crews and Palestinian Civil Defense workers recovered their bodies from the rubble and transported them to the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were officially pronounced dead.

The attack was part of a broader wave of Israeli bombardments that night, during which 160 warplanes, artillery, and naval forces carried out an intense 40-minute assault across northern Gaza. According to human rights monitors, 450 missiles and shells struck residential neighborhoods, mosques, agricultural fields, and roads, leaving widespread destruction. On that day alone, 44 Palestinians were killed, including 13 women and 14 children.

Islam’s death, together with the killing of his siblings and mother, was documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and other monitoring groups as an instance of indiscriminate targeting of civilians, amounting to a violation of international humanitarian law.

A plea from the family

“We lost everything in one moment. My children Islam, Amira, and little Mohammed were all killed with their mother when our home was bombed. They were only children, with no weapons, no protection—just dreams of growing up in peace. I buried them together, side by side, because they could not be separated in life or in death. I call on the world to see our pain, to stop these massacres, and to protect the children of Gaza from being slaughtered in their homes.”

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Islam Hasan Mohammad Attar, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources