The Story of the Child Jihad Abu Amer

The Story of the Child Jihad Abu Amer
“Jihad” – A Child Born and Martyred in the War
The Story of the Child Jihad Abu Amer
On the evening of October 23, 2023, Khaled Abu Amer listened to the roar of Israeli warplanes, which never ceased circling the skies over Gaza at low and high altitudes, as if in a race to be the first to drop missiles on civilians and collapse homes above their heads — in one of the most horrific massacres witnessed in history. He also tried to follow news reports on the radio amid frequent electricity cuts, struggling to comprehend the escalating atrocities.
This uneasy calm did not last long in his apartment in the Al-Salhi Towers in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, where 20 family members lived. At that moment, the bombardment targeted the upper floors of the tower, and a large section of debris collapsed onto the lower floors, smashing through the ceiling of the room where his child, Jihad (two and a half years old), was sleeping.
For several minutes, dust filled the room, obscuring vision, until Abu Amer and relatives managed to evacuate the survivors outside. To his horror, Jihad was not among them. Panic-stricken, he searched desperately through the rubble for his son.
The Massive Rubble
“We recognized his foot buried under about one and a half meters of debris. We cleared the rubble and carried him to Al-Awda Hospital. During that short journey of less than 300 meters, I felt my son had been martyred. His body was cold, and there was no sign of breathing. Upon arrival, the doctors confirmed his death despite their intensive efforts to resuscitate him,” Abu Amer told Quds Network, his voice heavy with grief.
He added, recounting the medical details:
“The diagnosis revealed internal bleeding in the head, likely caused by the extremely loud impact on the tower that destroyed his brain. They also confirmed asphyxiation due to the heavy debris collapsing on his body, which could not withstand the trauma.”
Abu Amer returned home carrying his son wrapped in a white shroud to bury him alongside seven other victims — mostly children and women — of the massacre caused by the Israeli targeting of the tower. Jihad was born on the final day of the “Sword of Jerusalem” battle, May 21, 2021, and was martyred in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza that began October 7, 2023 — truly born and martyred in war.
The short time between these two events had been a fleeting joy, filling his parents’ lives with the sound of his voice and presence, like a canary singing sweetly in their hearts. But his departure left an immense void, the echo of his laughter gone, and his blood stains scattered across the home’s stones, a painful reminder of his life and death.
Resilience Amid the Rubble
More than a month after the “brutal” bombing, Abu Amer returned to his building. About 35 families of neighbors still lived inside, continuing their lives in a constant state of emergency, despite an unexploded Israeli missile lodged in the structure — a stark message that “the occupation’s policies will not deter our people from surviving and remaining steadfast in this ordeal,” he said with a firm, steady voice.
Everyday memories haunt him: Jihad clinging to his father in search of security, walking together in the streets to find whatever little groceries were available, trying to forget or ease the horrors of deprivation caused by the war.
Since Jihad’s death, his four-and-a-half-year-old sister Kinda has repeatedly asked, “Where is Jojo?” — her affectionate nickname for her brother. Her father, struggling to soothe his own grief, said:
“I tried to find words she could understand to explain that her brother had passed and was now looking down on us from the sky. Over time, she began to comprehend. But the hardest part is seeing her watch other children — a brother and sister — play while she stands there, eyes filled with sorrow and tears, recalling when she played with her own brother.”
Jihad’s brief life and tragic death are now etched in the memory of his family, symbolizing the countless children of Gaza whose innocence and joy have been stolen by war.