In Gaza’s northern Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, 14-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Abdurrahman al-Zenati was killed as he headed to the scene to help an injured civil defense worker.
Muhammad ran to help Sharif Labd after seeing him wounded in an Israeli strike in the area on Tuesday. According to his mother, Muhammad was wounded in his hand and body during a drone strike and later died.
Muhammad had turned 14 on July 22. The boy supported his family amid Gaza’s severe humanitarian conditions, rising early especially to obtain water and fill containers.
He was trying to meet his family’s needs
Muhammad’s mother described her son as “the blessing of the household.” She said he behaved more maturely than his age, performed the dawn prayer on time, observed his obligatory prayers and helped the people around him.
His mother said Muhammad continued reading the Quran and had completed the basic reading course known as “al-Qaida al-Nuraniyya.” He contributed to his family’s daily needs while continuing to attend school.
He ran to help the wounded civil defense worker
Muhammad was with his friends when civil defense worker Sharif Labd was wounded in an Israeli strike in the area. His mother said her son ran toward the injured worker to rescue him and was struck by a drone attack.
Video footage showed Muhammad later returning to the area to reach the injured man. A second strike then occurred. His mother said Muhammad recited the profession of faith and prayed in his final moments.
The family could not say a final goodbye at the funeral
The family could not see Muhammad one last time because of the attacks in the area and movement restrictions. His mother said the body was hurriedly transported and buried, and that they could not bid farewell to their son.
Children continued to be killed in Gaza after the ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, 2025. In a statement issued in July, the Gaza Government Media Office claimed that more than 21,500 children had been killed in Israeli attacks by the 1,000th day of the war that began in October 2023.
The same statement said that 1,022 of the children killed were under one year old and that more than 520 had been born during the war. The Media Office said children, women and older people accounted for more than 55 percent of those killed by Israeli army fire.
According to the statements, 1,386 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began. The statements claimed that more than 73,000 Palestinians had been killed, more than 174,000 injured and approximately 90 percent of the infrastructure destroyed or damaged in the attacks that have continued since October 8, 2023.
A joint assessment by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union said Gaza would need $71.4 billion over 10 years for recovery and reconstruction. According to the assessment, approximately 85 percent of buildings and infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed.
