Hazem Naem ‘Aqel

Location Gaza

14-year-old Hazem from Gaza was a fun and humorous boy; he liked telling jokes and impersonating people. In the two years prior to his death he lost his father and two of his brothers. His father had a heart attack and one of his brothers drowned in the sea. “This affected him quite badly, but he was still ambitious and had plans for the future; he was a hard worker and was studying while working part-time,” said his brother.

On 23 July 2014, Hazem and his family were breaking their fast in the evening since it was Ramadan, when they heard an explosion. Hazem and one of his cousins ran out of the house to see what was happening. The moment they stepped out of the house, they got targeted by an Israeli warplane. Hazem and his cousin were killed. Their bodies were torn apart.