A child was bombed. The child was wounded and crying for help. So what did the army do?
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in northern Gaza after being struck in an initial Israeli attack while walking on a street. Video evidence shows Israeli forces then attacked civilians who rushed to help the wounded child, according to documentation by journalist Wafaa Thaher.
- 13-year-old Palestinian boy killed in northern Gaza on Friday
- Journalist Wafaa Thaher, 21, documented the incident on video near Jabalia refugee camp
- Israeli forces struck civilians attempting to aid the wounded child after initial strike
- Israeli military did not specify the tactical objective of the attacks
Video footage shows Israeli forces attacking civilians attempting to help a wounded 13-year-old boy in Gaza, who was subsequently killed. The incident was documented by a Palestinian journalist near Jabalia refugee camp.
A 13-year-old boy was walking down a street in northern Gaza on Friday when an Israeli strike hit him. The blast left a charred crater in the pavement on Al-Nafaq Street, near the Jabalia refugee camp. He survived the initial impact but was wounded, sitting in the street afterward, waving his arms at passersby and calling for help.
Wafaa Thaher, a 21-year-old Palestinian journalist, was there with a camera. She filmed what happened next. In her footage, the boy is visible on the ground, injured and distressed. "God, he was hit," she says in the video. "He's wounded. Why did they attack him?" Around her, residents of the enclave began moving toward the child, trying to reach him, trying to do what people do when someone is hurt—they tried to help.
Then another strike came. Israeli forces attacked the group of civilians who had rushed to the boy's aid. Thaher continued filming. "There are more cases," she said, her voice steady. When the second attack ended, she looked at the boy again. "This person on the ground is dead," she reported. He was 13 years old. Palestinian health authorities later confirmed he had died from the severity of his wounds.
The video was shared by The Washington Post, and it circulated widely. An Israeli citizen named Alon-Lee Green posted it on social media with a direct appeal to his countrymen: every Israeli citizen should see this footage, he wrote. It is difficult to watch and it breaks the heart, but it is necessary. In Gaza, he noted, people live every day under the consequences of military operations. They cannot close their eyes to it. A child was bombed by Israeli forces, he wrote. The child was wounded and crying for help. So what did the army do? It bombed the people who came to help him. Why? Simply why?
When asked about the incident, Israeli military spokespeople told the American outlet that they are working to dismantle Hamas's military and administrative capabilities and that they take "possible precautions" to reduce harm to civilians. They did not specify what the tactical objective of either strike had been, or why civilians attempting to aid a wounded child would have been a target. The boy remained dead. The question remained unanswered.
Notable Quotes
Every Israeli citizen should see this footage. It is difficult to watch and it breaks the heart, but it is necessary.— Alon-Lee Green, Israeli citizen, on social media
God, he was hit. He's wounded. Why did they attack him?— Wafaa Thaher, Palestinian journalist, in video documentation
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does this video matter now, in October 2024? There are thousands of incidents in this conflict.
Because a journalist was there. Because it's documented. Because it shows the sequence—the child hit, then the people who tried to help also hit. That specificity is what makes it impossible to dismiss as fog of war.
The Israeli military said they're targeting Hamas capabilities. Could civilians helping a wounded child be mistaken for a military threat?
That's the question Thaher's camera forces you to sit with. A 13-year-old on the ground, waving for help. Then neighbors running toward him. What military capability does that represent?
The journalist is 21. She kept filming after the first strike. Wasn't she afraid?
Probably. But she was documenting. That's what journalists do in places where the world doesn't see what happens otherwise. She was the witness.
An Israeli citizen posted this and asked his own government why. Does that change anything?
It shows the fracture. Not everyone in Israel accepts the framing their military offers. But the boy is still dead, and the question still has no answer.