Eyad Abdul Fattah Salha

Their life

Eyad Abdul-Fattah Salha, 33, a resident of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, was killed alongside his seven-months-pregnant wife, Amani (33), and their three-year-old daughter, Nagham, when an Israeli shell struck their home as they were eating dinner in their kitchen. According to his brother, Eyad was disabled and used a wheelchair. The sudden and violent attack destroyed their lives and home, prompting anguished pleas from surviving relatives. Their deaths were part of a broader bombardment campaign on May 19, 2021, during which at least 227 Palestinians were killed, including 64 children and 38 women.

Eyad Abdul-Fattah Salha, age 33, lived with his wife Amani and young daughter Nagham in Deir al-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip. Eyad, according to his family, was disabled and used a wheelchair. Despite his physical condition, he was a caring husband and father, known to his neighbors as quiet and devoted to his family.

On the night of May 19, 2021, as part of a heavy Israeli military offensive targeting various areas in Gaza, an artillery shell struck their home while the family was sitting in the kitchen eating dinner. The explosion killed all three — Eyad, his pregnant wife Amani, and their daughter Nagham — instantly. The tragedy unfolded without warning.

Eyad’s brother, in shock and rage, later told reporters:

“They were just sitting in their home and eating. What do they think he was doing? Firing missiles from his wheelchair?!”

The loss devastated the family and community. Amani had been seven months pregnant, and Nagham was only three years old — a child who had barely begun to experience

How they died

Eyad was killed by an Israeli artillery shell that struck their home while they were eating dinner.

The Israeli army fired artillery shells into residential areas of Deir al-Balah, among other parts of Gaza, on May 19, 2021. One of the shells directly struck the home of the Salha family. The explosion caused immediate, fatal injuries to all three family members. According to witness accounts, the shell landed without warning, and no militant presence was reported in or near the house. Eyad, being disabled and reliant on a wheelchair, posed no conceivable threat, and his wife and daughter were non-combatant civilians.

Their home was located in a civilian neighborhood — not a military site — and they were engaged in no activity other than having dinner when they were killed.

A plea from the family

Eyad’s brother expressed bitter sorrow and anger: “What do they [Israel] think he was doing, firing missiles from his wheelchair?! What did he, his pregnant wife, and their daughter, do to be mutilated like this?!”

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Eyad Abdul Fattah Salha, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources