Rima Sa’ed Kamel Sa’ed al-Telbani

Their life

Rima Sa’ed Kamel Sa’ed al-Telbani was a 31-year-old Palestinian mother from the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. She lived with her husband and two young children, Zaid (5) and Mariam (3), raising them amid the daily hardships of life under siege. On May 11, 2021, during a wave of intense Israeli airstrikes, Rima was killed when missiles struck her residential building, killing her and her son Zaid instantly. Her daughter Mariam’s body was not immediately recovered from the rubble. Rima’s life was one of love and care for her children, and her sudden death alongside them became part of the broader tragedy of Palestinian civilian families shattered during the May 2021 escalation.

Rima Sa’ed Kamel Sa’ed al-Telbani, aged 31, was a Palestinian woman and mother of two from Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. She was the wife of Mohammed ‘Odah al-Telbani and the devoted mother of Zaid, aged 5, and Mariam, aged 3. Like many women in Gaza, Rima balanced her family life with the challenges of living in one of the most difficult humanitarian situations in the world, where siege, poverty, and recurring bombardments shaped daily existence.

In the early hours of May 11, 2021, Israeli warplanes launched two missiles at a four-storey residential building located next to al-Yaziji Bakery in Tal al-Hawa. The attack killed Rima, her son Zaid, and other civilians, while Mariam’s small body remained buried under the rubble. Neighbors and rescuers struggled through the destruction to recover victims. Rima’s death is remembered as part of a single airstrike that wiped out a mother and her children in their home, leaving surviving relatives and the wider community devastated.

Her story became a represe

How they died

Rima was killed by an Israeli missile strike on her residential building in Gaza City.

At approximately 01:35 a.m. on May 11, 2021, Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on a four-storey residential building in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. The building, located near al-Yaziji Bakery, was struck with two missiles. The powerful explosions collapsed parts of the structure and instantly killed several civilians, including Rima, her son Zaid, and neighbors. Her daughter Mariam was also killed, though her body was not immediately recovered. The cause of death was severe injuries and trauma from the missile explosions, which left no chance of survival.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Rima Sa’ed Kamel Sa’ed al-Telbani, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources