Siham Yousif Mohammed al-Rantisi
Siham Yousif Mohammed al-Rantisi, 66, was killed by Israeli missiles.
On May 14, 2021, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at her family’s three-story home in the al-Jneina neighborhood of Rafah, southern Gaza. The strike occurred shortly before 8:30 p.m. while the family was gathered together during the bombardment. The attack killed Siham, her 2-year-old grandson Ibrahim, her son Raed (29), and her daughter-in-law Shaima (21). Fifteen others, including seven children, were wounded. The home was destroyed, adding to dozens of other houses and apartment buildings that were bombarded across Rafah and Gaza that same night.
Biography
Siham Yousif Mohammed al-Rantisi was a 66-year-old grandmother from the al-Jneina neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza. On the evening of May 13, 2021, she was at home with her family when Israeli warplanes bombed the three-story house, killing her, her 2-year-old grandson Ibrahim, her son Raed, and her daughter-in-law Shaima. Fifteen others were injured in the same attack. Siham’s life, devoted to her family and community, was ended abruptly in a place where she should have been safe. Her death became part of the larger tragedy of the May 2021 bombardment, which devastated Rafah and wiped out entire Palestinian families in seconds.
Born in Rafah, southern Gaza, Siham Yousif Mohammed al-Rantisi spent her 66 years in one of the most challenging corners of the Gaza Strip, an area long marked by displacement, poverty, and repeated wars. She was a mother and grandmother, remembered as a family-oriented woman who kept her loved ones close, even in times of crisis. During the May 2021 Israeli bombardment, when families across Gaza sought shelter together in their homes, Siham gathered with her children and grandchildren under one roof in the al-Jneina neighborhood.
On the evening of May 14, that roof collapsed upon them when an Israeli missile struck the house. Siham was killed instantly, together with three generations of her family: her young grandson Ibrahim (only 2 years old), her son Raed (29), and her daughter-in-law Shaima (21). The strike left her extended family shattered and wounded, with fifteen others injured, including young children.
Siham’s death was not only a personal tragedy but also symbolic of the collective suffering end
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
In their grief, they described Siham as the backbone of the family — a grandmother whose presence gave comfort and strength to her children and grandchildren. “We were gathered together as a family, hoping to stay safe,” a relative said, “but instead the missile found us in our own home. We lost a grandmother, a son, a young mother, and a baby in an instant.”
Sources & References
Siham Yousif Mohammed al-Rantisi, 66, was killed by Israeli missiles that struck her family’s home in the al-Jneina neighborhood in Rafah. She was killed along with her son, daughter-in-law and 2-year old grandson, while the family was gathered together all night while the Israeli bombs fell. An Israeli warplane fired a missile at a three-story home in the Jnaineh neighborhood of Rafah shortly before 8:30 p.m., killing 2-year old Ibrahim, his grandmother, uncle, and aunt, and injuring 15 others, including 7 children. The Israeli army continued its bombardment and shelling of several parts of the Gaza Strip, Friday, killing dozens of Palestinians, including many children, and injuring hundreds, in addition to damaging and destroying dozens of homes and buildings across the besieged coastal region.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source
On May 13, 2021, at least four people—including two women and one child—were killed, and fifteen others were injured, among them seven children and three women, in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Jenina neighborhood of Rafah. Human rights sources reported that only one of the fatalities was identified as a belligerent, while the rest were civilians. According to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, at approximately 8:20 p.m., an Israeli warplane fired a missile—without prior warning—at a three-story residential house that sheltered four families. The attack killed two-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed al-Rantisi, his grandmother Siham Yusuf Azara (al-Rantisi), 66, his uncle Raed Ibrahim Azara (al-Rantisi), 29, and Raed’s wife Shaima Diab Musa, 21. Fifteen additional family members and neighbors, including many children, were wounded in the strike.2 airwars.org Open source