Abd al-Rahman Mohammad al-Hadidi

Their life

Abd al-Rahman Mohammad al-Hadidi, 8, was a young Palestinian boy from the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza. He grew up in a large and close-knit family surrounded by his parents, siblings, and relatives. Abd al-Rahman was one of the many children in Gaza who faced life under the constant threat of conflict, yet he was deeply loved by his family. His life was cut tragically short on May 15, 2021, when Israeli airstrikes struck his family’s home in the camp, killing him along with several members of his family, including his mother and siblings.

Abd al-Rahman Mohammad al-Hadidi was born and raised in the al-Shati refugee camp, a densely populated area in Gaza that has long been home to Palestinian families displaced since the Nakba of 1948. Like many children his age, Abd al-Rahman lived amidst hardship but also carried the joy and innocence of youth, spending his days surrounded by his siblings and relatives. On May 15, 2021, his life ended abruptly when Israeli warplanes launched missiles at the home of his relatives, the Abu Hatab family, without warning. The airstrike destroyed the three-story house and killed nine people, including Abd al-Rahman, his mother, and his siblings. His five-month-old baby brother was the only one of the children to survive with injuries. Abd al-Rahman’s death came during one of the deadliest days of the May 2021 escalation in Gaza, in which entire families were wiped out in what human rights groups described as collective punishment and indiscriminate targeting of civilians. His story became a symbol of the heavy toll

How they died

Abd al-Rahman was killed by Israeli airstrikes that directly targeted and destroyed his family’s home in the al-Shati refugee camp.

In the early hours of May 15, 2021, at around 1:30 a.m., Israeli warplanes launched six missiles at a three-story house in the al-Shati refugee camp belonging to the Abu Hatab family. The strike came without warning or evacuation orders for the residents. The powerful blasts leveled the home and trapped families inside, killing nine people instantly, including two women and seven children. Abd al-Rahman was among those killed, along with his mother, siblings, and cousins. Human rights organizations condemned the attack as an indiscriminate airstrike on a civilian household, part of a wider Israeli campaign that was heavily criticized for violating international humanitarian law and amounting to collective punishment.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Abd al-Rahman Mohammad al-Hadidi, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources