Mohammed Ahmed Abu Sha’er

Location Rafah

17-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Abu Sha’er from Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip was courageous and had a strong personality. He did not like injustice. He liked to defend vulnerable people. He had canary birds, and a chicken and goats. He praised people who practiced the rosary beads. He was a Barcelona football fan. “On the day of his death his canary died,” says his brother, Abdullah, who is 21.

On 1 August 2014, Mohammed went to his father’s farm to feed the chicken and goats. On his way back to his home there were random Israeli attacks in the streets. Mohammed phoned his brother Abdullah telling him he could not return home and he would go back to the farm. When Mohammed arrived at the farm an Israeli missile hit him. “He was killed and his rosary was between his fingers,” says Abdullah.