May 24, 2025
Killed in an Israeli airstrike, 11-year-old Yaqeen Hammad had become a beacon of hope for Gaza’s displaced and orphaned children.
At only 11 years old, Yaqeen Hammad was Gaza’s youngest media activist and the youngest volunteer in a local charity group. With wisdom well beyond her age, Yaqeen brought hope to places shadowed by fear.
Living under siege in the Gaza Strip, she managed to reach tens of thousands through her Instagram videos. Some highlighted aid efforts for orphans and displaced families. Others showed her laughing and playing with children, handing out gifts with joy.
Many documented the daily struggles of life under relentless Israeli bombardment. Yaqeen’s content was a testament to resilience—a refusal to be crushed by Israel’s genocide.
But Yaqeen’s voice was silenced on a night in Deir al-Balah on Friday night. An Israeli airstrike struck her neighborhood, killing her beneath the rubble.
The girl who once brought comfort and smiles became another name in a growing list of lives lost in Gaza. Her death marked the loss of one of the Strip’s youngest and most courageous voices.
One of the targeted buildings belonged to the Shreiteh family. Emergency crews later described the aftermath as indescribably painful.
Yaqeen often accompanied her older brother, Mohamed Hammad, a humanitarian worker, on aid missions. Together, they delivered food, clothing, and toys to displaced families.
News of her death sparked an outpouring of grief across Gaza and social media. Activists, journalists, and followers mourned the loss of a child who had come to represent light in one of Gaza’s darkest periods.
“She was a child who should have been in school, playing like children everywhere,” one tribute read.
Born into blockade, raised under bombardment, and shaped by trauma, Yaqeen chose to act rather than remain silent. Her courage left a lasting impact on all who saw her — a young girl who led by example amid the ruins.
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