Moath Al-Masri

Their life

Moath al-Masri, 35, was a Palestinian from Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank. He was killed on May 4, 2023, when Israeli forces stormed the al-Yasmina neighborhood of Nablus’s Old City. During the assault, soldiers surrounded a home and bombarded it with shells, live rounds, and a drone-fired missile, killing Moath along with two other Palestinians. Remembered as a man of strength and resolve, Moath’s death marked another tragedy in the ongoing cycle of violence that continues to devastate Palestinian families and communities.

Born and raised in Nablus, Moath al-Masri was a 35-year-old Palestinian who lived through decades of occupation, violence, and instability in the northern West Bank. On May 4, 2023, Moath was in the al-Yasmina neighborhood of Nablus’s Old City when Israeli forces launched a large-scale invasion. The operation began with undercover soldiers surrounding a home, followed by a full military incursion involving over 200 troops, anti-tank missiles, stun grenades, and drone-fired rockets. Moath was inside the besieged home along with Hasan Qatanani, 35, and Ibrahim Jabr, 45. The soldiers fired dozens of live rounds and multiple shells, killing all three men and leaving two of their bodies badly mutilated.

The invasion sparked widespread protests across Nablus, where soldiers injured more than 160 Palestinians, including children affected by heavy tear gas fired near schools. Moath’s death, alongside his companions, added to the rising toll of Palestinians killed in 2023, a year already marked by devastating losses. His family and community mourned him as yet another young life taken amid ongoing conflict, denied the chance to live in peace and dignity.

How they died

Moath al-Masri was killed by Israeli gunfire and shelling during a military invasion in Nablus.

During the Israeli raid on May 4, 2023, soldiers surrounded a home in Nablus’s Old City, targeting it with live ammunition, shells, and missiles fired from a drone. Moath was inside the house when it was struck, sustaining fatal injuries that led to his immediate death. The excessive use of heavy weaponry, including Energia rockets, mutilated some of the victims’ remains, highlighting the severity of the assault. Despite the presence of Palestinian medics, ambulances were blocked from reaching the area as soldiers fired at them, preventing any possibility of lifesaving treatment.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Moath Al-Masri, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources