Palestinian child killed by Israel on first day back at school in Gaza

Wafaa Akila, aged eight, was photographed smiling in her blue school uniform hours before an Israeli strike killed the little girl and her father Images of eight-year-old Palestinian girl Wafaa Akila are circulating on social media after an Israeli strike killed her alongside her father in Gaza City on Sunday (Social media/X) Published date: 7 September 2026 19:40 BST | Last update: 13 sec ago An eight-year-old Palestinian girl, whose age was confirmed by al-Shifa hospital, was killed alongside her father in an Israeli strike on Gaza City on Sunday, hours after she attended the first day of the new school year. Wafaa Yousef Nabil Akila and her father, Youssef Nabil Rabah Akila, were travelling in a vehicle in western Gaza City when an Israeli drone near the Hamid intersection struck the car. The attack also wounded six other Palestinians, according to medical officials at al-Shifa hospital. Photographs shared before the strike showed Wafaa smiling in a blue school uniform and giving a thumbs-up on her first day back at school. Eight-year-old Wafaa Akila was killed alongside her father on her first day of school when an Israeli strike hit their car in western Gaza. The IDF insists the attack was targeting a "Hamas militant." pic.twitter.com/sneFKgoSsV — HatsOff (@HatsOffff) September 7, 2026 Images from the aftermath showed her schoolbooks and supplies scattered across the charred wreckage of the vehicle. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Footage published by Drop Site News showed men at the scene holding strands of the child's hair. “This is all that’s left, world,” one man said in the footage. “What truce are you talking about?” “There has been no ceasefire,” another said. “Every day there are massacres. Every day there is killing. Every day children are dying.” “Enough of this abandonment.” Many people online reacted with outrage to the attacks, specifically pointing to the fact that the alleged ceasefire has never come into effect in Gaza and civilians continue dying. 🟥 WAFAA YOUSEF AKILA WAS NINE YEARS OLD. SHE NEVER MADE IT TO HER SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL. 🔳 Yesterday was nine-year-old Wafaa Yousef Akila first day of the new school year in Gaza. After finishing school, she went with her father, Yousef Akila, to buy school supplies for the… pic.twitter.com/kK72ae12GR — shameen suleman (@shameensuleman) September 7, 2026 The Israeli military initially said the strike had targeted a Hamas member and that it was examining its outcome. On Monday, it identified Youssef Akila as a company commander in Hamas's elite Nukhba force and accused him of planning attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and of working to restore the group's capabilities. The military did not provide publicly available evidence to substantiate those claims in its announcement. ‘Back to school’ in Gaza Wafaa's killing prompted anger online, with Palestinians and supporters contrasting the familiar images of children returning to classrooms at the start of an academic year with the continuing killing of children in Gaza. She asked for nothing more than the chance to learn… yet she was killed. 💔 This is the beautiful little girl, Wafaa Aqilah, whose photo you see before you. Today, she went out with her father to buy school supplies, carrying the joy of returning to the classroom and the… pic.twitter.com/K1Hk1bmAZs — Abdullah Omar🇵🇸 (@Abdullah_Om3r03) September 6, 2026 Formal schooling in Gaza is due to resume later in September, though some schools and alternative education centres have already reopened. Much of Gaza's education infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged by the Israeli military, forcing thousands of Palestinian children to study in tents, makeshift classrooms and buildings also being used as shelters. For Wafaa, the return to school lasted only hours. Other children killed across Gaza on Sunday Wafaa was one of several Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip on the same day, despite a US-backed ceasefire that came into effect in October 2025. In central Gaza, seven-year-old Saadi Ghaliya was killed when Israeli artillery struck the Sakina School, which was sheltering displaced families east of Deir al-Balah. Others were wounded in the attack. In Gaza City, Mohammad Atef Arafat Sukkar, 28, was killed in an Israeli drone strike near a telecommunications junction in the Rimal area, according to Palestinian reports. Hassan Ali Saqallah, 19, later died from wounds sustained after being shot near Palestine Stadium and al-Mamounia School. Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.