Haifaa Tawfiq Ahmed Abu Jamee

Location Khan Younis

Nine-year-old Haifaa from Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip was a shy girl. Haiuf, her nickname, was among the best at school. She was supposed to start third grade soon. She was said to be independent in making her own decisions. She was a very insisting girl. She always did what she wanted. She was very active, so she used to go to school early. Her ambition was to be a doctor. “Haifaa didn’t wait for my son Hosam before school so that they go together. We used to tell her that we’ll marry her to Hosam, and she would get very shy," said her aunt.

On 20 July 2014, just before sunset, the Abu Jamee’s three-story house was bombarded by missiles by Israeli forces. There was no prior warning given. “It was a real massacre; twenty-six people were killed. Three people were injured and survived,” her father said.