Killing of Sidra Hassouna

On 12 February 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of airstrikes on Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip where an estimated one million Palestinians, including Sidra Hassouna and her family, had sought refuge after being forcibly displaced from northern Gaza. The building in which the family was sheltering was struck, killing Hassouna, her twin sister, her 15-month-old brother, her parents, her grandparents, and an uncle. The airstrikes killed more than 83 people in total.

The attacks coincided with the 2024 Rafah hostage raid, an IDF operation to free two hostages held by Hamas approximately 1.7 kilometres from where Hassouna's family was killed. Israeli government sources described the airstrikes as a diversion or "covering fire" linked to that raid.

Hassouna's death drew significant international attention after a graphic image of her mutilated body — both of her legs had been torn off by the airstrikes, leaving her body hanging from a higher point of a destroyed house — began circulating on social media, including Instagram. She was identified by Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, as a relative: specifically the cousin of his wife. Zomlot shared images of Hassouna alive and of her body, along with images of other relatives killed in the attack, and received condolences from several UK Members of Parliament, including Zarah Sultana, Richard Burgon, and Nadia Whittome, as well as from former shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

The killing subsequently became a reference point in pro-Palestinian campus protests in the United States. During 2024 demonstrations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, high school protesters renamed a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue in reference to Hassouna. On 10 May 2024, protesters at Harvard College renamed several dormitories on Harvard Yard, including Holworthy Hall, which was renamed "Hassouna Hall," to honor Palestinian children and journalists killed in the conflict. Public figures including S.K. Ali, Jeremy Corbyn, and Owen Jones also spoke out about her killing.