Amir Rafat Mohammad Tanani

Their life

Amir Rafat Mohammad Tanani was a 6-year-old boy from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. He lived with his parents, Ra’fat and Rawiyia, and his three younger brothers. Amir was remembered by relatives as a cheerful child, full of curiosity and energy, growing up surrounded by the warmth of his close-knit family. His life was tragically cut short on May 13, 2021, when an Israeli airstrike struck his home during a night of intense bombardment, killing him along with his parents and siblings.

Born in Beit Hanoun, Amir Rafat Mohammad Tanani was the eldest son in a household of four children. He lived with his father Ra’fat, who was 38, his pregnant mother Rawiyia, 36, and his three younger brothers – Ismail, Ameer, and Adham. Amir was known to family and neighbors as a bright and playful child, often seen playing in the streets near his home with his brothers. His family had deep roots in Beit Hanoun, and like many in Gaza, they endured hardship but remained closely bonded. On May 13, 2021, their home became one of the many targeted in a series of Israeli airstrikes that devastated residential areas. Amir, along with every member of his immediate family, was killed when their home collapsed under the bombardment. His death, together with that of his siblings, symbolized the broader tragedy of children in Gaza who lost their lives in the May 2021 escalation.

How they died

Amir was killed in an Israeli airstrike that struck his family’s home in Beit Hanoun on May 13, 2021.

In the early hours of May 13, 2021, Israeli warplanes fired a series of missiles into residential areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including Beit Hanoun. The Tanani family home was hit without warning, and the building collapsed with the family inside. Rescue teams later recovered the bodies of Amir, his parents, and his three siblings from the rubble. Medical sources confirmed the family had died instantly from the force of the strike, which leveled not only their home but also neighboring buildings. The same night, dozens of other families across Gaza suffered similar fates as Israel intensified its aerial campaign.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Amir Rafat Mohammad Tanani, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources