Fourteen year old student killed in Israeli strike in Deir el Balah

A 14-year-old student was killed in an Israeli strike while returning home from school in Deir el-Balah on October 17, Al Jazeera reported. Mohammed Hamad was walking through the al-Baraka neighbourhood with his 10-year-old brother, Abdullah, after finishing classes at a makeshift school. Mohammed Hamad and another man died in the strike on the road, while his younger brother survived. [1]

The victim was an eighth-grade student and among the top pupils in his class, according to Al Jazeera. His 44-year-old father, Riyad Hamad, stated from his family tent in Deir el-Balah that Mohammed was his third child and described him as his friend. [1]

Al Jazeera reported that children in Gaza have faced Israeli bombs and sniper fire since the academic year resumed. Gaza's population is heavily made up of children, who account for approximately 40 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip. By September 3, 2025, at least 19,424 children had been killed during the war. [1][7]

The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres previously warned in November 2023 that Gaza was becoming a graveyard for children as hundreds were reported killed or injured daily. Other United Nations experts have also warned of the systematic destruction of the education system in Gaza. [4][7]