Abeer Nimir Ali Ishkantna
Abeer and her four children were killed by Israeli airstrikes that struck and collapsed their home in Gaza City.
The cause of Abeer’s death was the direct result of Israeli airstrikes that targeted multiple residential buildings on al-Wehda Street in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City in the early hours of May 16, 2021. Without warning, Israeli warplanes bombarded the area with heavy missiles, destroying three multi-story residential buildings and surrounding infrastructure. Abeer and her children were trapped under the rubble of their house and crushed to death as the building collapsed. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), 37 people, including 11 children and 9 women, were killed in the same attack, making it one of the deadliest single incidents of the May 2021 offensive.
Biography
Abeer Nimir Ali Ishkantna, 30, was a Palestinian mother from Gaza City who was killed alongside her four small children during the devastating Israeli airstrikes on al-Wehda Street in the al-Rimal neighborhood on May 16, 2021. Known as a devoted mother, she lived a family-centered life, raising her children with love and care despite the harsh conditions of the Gaza blockade. Her children—Dana (9), Yehya (5), Lana (3), and Zain (2)—were her entire world, and they tragically died with her, crushed under the rubble of their home. Her life and that of her children were cut short in one of the deadliest nights of bombardment, which claimed dozens of civilian lives from the Abu al-Ouf and al-Qulaq families as well.
Abeer Ishkantna was born and raised in Gaza City, a place where she endured the challenges of repeated wars, siege, and economic hardships that have defined much of life in the coastal enclave. Despite these difficulties, she built a family of her own and devoted herself to raising her four children—Dana, Yehya, Lana, and Zain—in a nurturing environment, offering them comfort and stability amidst the turbulence around them. On the night of May 16, 2021, as Israeli warplanes unleashed a series of heavy bombardments on al-Wehda Street, Abeer clutched her children close in their home, trying to shield them from the destruction. Their house collapsed under the impact of the missiles, killing her and her children instantly. The attack also killed dozens of other family members in the neighborhood, including children from the Abu al-Ouf and al-Qulaq families. Abeer’s death, along with that of her children, became a symbol of the devastating toll the conflict inflicted on families, wiping out entire households in an
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Sources & References
Abeer Nimir Ali Ishkantna, 30, was killed by Israeli missiles in Gaza city, along with her four small children. She was killed along with her four young children: Dana, 9, Yehya, 5, Lana, 3, and Zain, 2. The same attack also killed Rula Mohammad al-Qulaq, five, Yara, nine, and Hala, 12 – all sisters – together with their cousin Hana, 14, and several other of their relatives, as well as sisters Dima and Mira Rami al-Ifranji al-Auf, 15 and 11.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source