Shawkat Khaled Awad

Their life

Shawkat Khaled Awad was a 20-year-old Palestinian man from Beit Ummar, a town north of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank. On July 29, 2021, he was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while participating in the funeral procession of an 11-year-old boy, Mohammad Moayyad Bahjat al-‘Allami, who had been killed by Israeli gunfire the day before. Shawkat was critically wounded by live ammunition to the head and abdomen and later died from his injuries.

Shawkat Khaled Awad, 20, was a resident of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank. He was killed on July 29, 2021, while attending the funeral of 11-year-old Mohammad Moayyad al-‘Allami, who had been fatally shot by Israeli soldiers the previous day. Shawkat was walking closely beside the child's body during the funeral procession when Israeli forces opened fire on the mourners. Eyewitness accounts and video footage confirm that Shawkat posed no threat and was simply among those mourning the child’s death. He was struck with live bullets in the head and abdomen. Despite efforts by medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, he succumbed to his critical wounds. The same attack wounded at least 12 other mourners. Shawkat’s death came during what should have been a solemn, peaceful burial, and added further trauma to a grieving community. His killing intensified outrage over the Israeli army’s use of live fire even during civilian funerals.

How they died

Gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen inflicted by Israeli forces.

Shawkat was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers who opened fire on a funeral procession in Beit Ummar. He sustained critical gunshot wounds to both the head and abdomen while walking near the body of the slain child, Mohammad al-‘Allami. Despite receiving medical attention, he died shortly afterward due to the severity of his injuries. The attack on the procession injured at least 12 others and was widely condemned for targeting civilians engaged in a funeral.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Shawkat Khaled Awad, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources