Gaza mother shot dead on way home after sending family to Egypt

Noura Sheikh al-Eid, a 54-year-old Palestinian mother, was killed by an Israeli sniper on 5 November while returning to her displacement tent in Khan Younis. She had just finished seeing her husband and daughter off to Egypt for medical treatment, an event that was intended to be a temporary farewell.

Her brother, Mohammed Sheikh al-Eid, expressed deep shock over the loss, noting that he had not grieved the death of his own son during the famine as intensely as he did for his sister. He described Noura as a second mother to him because she had helped raise him. The incident occurred in the context of repeated Israeli fire near the so-called yellow line, a boundary marking areas under Israeli military control in the Gaza Strip.

The night before the shooting, family members gathered to bid farewell to Noura’s husband, Atallah Abu Athra, and their daughter, Hiba. Atallah suffers from heart disease and diabetes, conditions that had worsened to the point of gangrene, requiring the amputation of five toes and part of his foot. Hiba, who had recently finished her secondary school exams, was registered as her father’s medical companion to accompany him to Egypt.

Despite advice from her brother to stay at the tent, Noura insisted on accompanying the pair to the Palestine Red Crescent centre. She waited until their bus departed, kissing Hiba and telling her to come back as a doctor. After the bus left, Noura and her daughter Rula attempted to return home but could not find a car. They accepted a free ride on a donkey-drawn cart offered by a local man.

Rula, 18, stayed on foot because the donkey could not carry much weight and Noura appeared unwell due to diabetes. Shortly after Noura climbed onto the cart, her teeth fell to the ground, followed by a gush of blood. Rula heard a small explosion, which she initially mistook for a ball, before realizing her mother had collapsed. Bystanders rushed to help, and Noura was taken to a British field hospital in al-Mawasi.

At the hospital, doctors identified a bullet entry wound beneath Noura’s lower jaw and an exit wound behind her right ear. Although she was initially alive, she recited the Islamic declaration of faith before passing away in the resuscitation room. Rula described finding her mother already wrapped in a shroud when she rushed into the room, prompting her to beg the staff to unwrap her.

Since the October 2025 ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,600 Palestinians, with at least 196 of those deaths occurring near the yellow line between late 2025 and early 2026. This group includes 18 women, 32 boys, and 11 girls, according to a United Nations commission. Noura’s body was later transferred to Nasser Hospital for burial arrangements.

Rula’s maternal uncle, Mahmoud, was running toward the hospital when he saw the ambulance. Upon entering, he asked where Noura was, and Rula pointed to the shrouded body. The family laid Noura to rest in Khan Younis, where she had been displaced for over two years. Her husband and daughter in Egypt did not learn of the death until the following day, when Hiba saw local media reports and searched online for news.

The family struggled to explain the loss to Hiba, who blamed herself for leaving. Her father’s relatives in Egypt visited her to provide comfort, and she was seen screaming and crying on a video call. Since the burial, Rula has remained largely silent and has not shed a tear, remaining in a state of shock. Three of Noura’s daughters, including Rula, now remain alone in their tent, often visited by their uncle’s wife.