Key Developments
- Wafaa Yousef Akila, nine, had just begun the new school year in Gaza after prolonged disruption caused by Israel’s genocidal war.
- After classes, she went with her father, Yousef, to buy notebooks, pens and other school supplies when an Israeli strike hit their car.
- Wafaa and her father were killed in the Al-Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City, while others were wounded in the attack.
A First Day of School
Wafaa Yousef Akila was nine years old when she began what should have been a new chapter in her childhood.
Like thousands of children across Gaza, she was returning to school after a prolonged interruption caused by Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip.
Her expectations were those of any child beginning a new academic year: notebooks, pens, a school bag and the chance to see classmates again.
On Sunday, Wafaa attended her first day of school. After classes, she left with her father, Yousef, to buy the school supplies she still needed for the days ahead. It was supposed to be an ordinary family errand marking the beginning of a school year.
Instead, it became their last journey together.
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Killed While Buying School Supplies
According to Palestinian sources cited by Al-Jazeera, an Israeli missile struck the car carrying Wafaa and her father in the Al-Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City.
Both were killed in the attack, while others were wounded. The strike turned the objects associated with Wafaa’s return to school, notebooks, pens and supplies, into part of the scene of destruction.
Gaza Health Ministry Director General Munir al-Barsh drew attention to the circumstances of her killing, asking what threat a school bag, notebook or pen could represent.
Wafaa never returned for her second day of school.
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A Story beyond One Child
Wafaa’s killing resonated widely because it reflected a much larger reality confronting Gaza’s children.
The new school year has begun amid widespread destruction, displacement and the deaths of thousands of children and family members throughout the Israeli war.
For many students, returning to classrooms has meant returning without parents, siblings or classmates who were killed during the genocide.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000.
Thousands of children are among those killed, while much of Gaza’s educational infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged, leaving an entire generation of Palestinian children to pursue their education amid death, displacement and destruction.
(PC, AJA, Palestinian media)