Abdullah Jamal Jomaa Al Samiry

Location Khan Younis

17-year-old Abdullah Jamal Jomaa Al Samiry from Khan Younis left school at 15 to enroll in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) technical school where he was learning to be a mechanic. His parents opened a small workshop for him. He also repaired motorcycles. “He was a very funny boy. He liked to play football in his spare time,” said his mother

On Friday, 18 July 2014, a shell hit Abdullah’s house, exploding in the room where Abdullah was sleeping. He died instantly. His family called for an ambulance; however, due to the insecure situation in the neighborhood the ambulance was not able to access the house. The family evacuated their home the next day; they tried to take Abdullah’s body with them, but it was too difficult to carry it and they had to abandon it en route. “It was so hard. I lost my son. My husband is sick. I am still injured [from the attack],: says Abdullah’s mother.