Dana Riyad Hasan Ishkantna

Their life

Dana Riyad Hasan Ishkantna, 9, was a young Palestinian girl from Gaza City who was killed along with her mother, Abeer Nimir Ali Ishkantna (30), and her three siblings during the Israeli airstrikes on al-Wehda Street in the al-Rimal neighborhood on May 16, 2021. Dana was described as a bright and lively child who loved being with her family and enjoyed the small joys of childhood despite growing up under siege in Gaza. Her life was cut short in one of the deadliest nights of the May 2021 offensive, when an Israeli missile struck and destroyed her family home, killing her, her mother, and her siblings instantly.

Dana was born and raised in Gaza City, where she spent her early years surrounded by her parents and siblings. Despite the hardships of blockade, conflict, and repeated airstrikes, she found joy in her family’s love, her play with her brothers and sisters, and her childhood dreams. At just 9 years old, she was already old enough to understand the fear of war but still clung to the innocence of youth, often seeking safety and comfort in her mother’s embrace. On the night of May 16, 2021, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of intense strikes on residential buildings on al-Wehda Street. As the bombs struck, Dana was inside her home with her mother and siblings—Yehya (5), Lana (3), and Zain (2). Their building collapsed, crushing them under the rubble. Dana and her siblings were among 37 people, including 11 children and 9 women, who were killed in that attack. Her death was part of a devastating toll that wiped out entire families in Gaza within minutes.

How they died

Dana was killed when Israeli airstrikes destroyed her home in Gaza City, crushing her under the rubble.

The cause of Dana’s death was the destruction of her family’s home by Israeli airstrikes on May 16, 2021. The missiles targeted several residential buildings in al-Wehda Street, al-Rimal neighborhood, without warning, causing them to collapse on their residents. Dana, only 9 years old, was trapped beneath the debris with her mother and siblings, all of whom died in the attack. The same strikes killed dozens of her neighbors, many of them children. Her death reflected the widespread civilian casualties of the offensive, where entire households were erased in a single night of bombing.

A plea from the family

“They are now gone, killed with their families, buried with their dreams and the nightmares that haunted them.”

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Dana Riyad Hasan Ishkantna, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources