Mohammad Abdul Zinati was walking home from school through the rubble of Salah Khalaf Street in northern Gaza City when he stopped at a supermarket where a group of classmates and friends had gathered. Shortly before 3:30pm, an explosion tore through the air. Along with several others, Mohammad rushed into the street to see what had happened.
When the smoke and dust cleared, they saw a man lying bleeding on the dusty road. He was badly wounded but still alive. The man was calling for help, and Mohammad ran towards him. He did not hear the shouts of his cousin, who had spotted an approaching Israeli drone. Within seconds, the drone released a glide bomb, designed to allow operators to identify and strike targets with high accuracy. The munition plunged towards the street, detonating just metres from the teenager. Mohammad did not have time to react before a second blast killed him.
The Guardian verified footage of the attack and spoke to witnesses and weapons experts to shed light on the latest Israeli strike to kill a child in Gaza. “We heard a loud explosion and tried to make our way to the scene to find out what had happened,” said Tamer Lubbad, a witness who filmed the attack. “We found a man lying on the ground. He was still alive and calling for help.”
The man injured in the initial strike was later identified by Gaza’s civil defense as the paramedic Sharif Shadi Labad. The Israeli military said Labad was targeted because he was a Hamas militant. Several other civilians approached Labad as he lay injured in the street. Among them was Mohammad Zinati’s cousin, Mohammed Rajeh Zinati, 26.
“I ran from the house towards the street to find out what had happened,” he said. “On my way, I saw my cousin coming out of the supermarket. He was running towards the site of the strike. I started shouting at him: ‘Mohammad, stop!’ but he didn’t hear me and kept going. Then I saw a drone in the sky. I started shouting: ‘Run! Get away!’ At that moment, Mohammad had reached the injured man. As soon as he got there, the drone struck him.”
“Mohammad was hit directly in the chest and abdomen and was killed almost instantly. I couldn’t do anything to rescue him,” said Zinati.
Video filmed later showed Mohammad’s body lying under a white shroud outside al-Shifa hospital after the attack, as his father bid him an emotional farewell, reciting verses from the Qur’an. People who knew Mohammad said he was a much-loved figure in the neighbourhood. “He was a kind, helpful, polite and respectful boy,” his cousin said. “He would help elderly people collect water from the water trucks. When he was killed, people from the neighbourhood came out into the street, crying for him.”
The IDF has repeatedly rejected allegations that it deliberately targets civilians, saying it assesses and takes into account the risk of civilian harm when carrying out strikes. However, weapons experts who reviewed the video said the teenager’s death may have been avoidable. “The bomb that is visible before impact is a Mikholit, which is deployed by Israeli unmanned vehicles (UAVs) or drones,” said Trevor Ball, a conflict researcher and trainer at Bellingcat and drone expert. “These UAVs have high-quality cameras that would have been able to see the teenager and the man approaching the body. Some variants of the Mikholit atAt least some can be redirected to a different target or point while in flight. The strike that killed the teenager and the paramedic appears to fit the pattern commonly called a “double-tap” attack: an initial strike followed by a second on the same location after rescuers or bystanders arrive to help the wounded. In a statement to the Guardian, the Israeli military said Sharif Shadi Ibrahim Labad was a Hamas terrorist belonging to the elite Nukhba forces. The IDF said Labad had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attacks at the Erez border crossing and was targeted because he was planning new operations. Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians. Read more. Asked why the second attack went ahead when its target was clearly a minor, the military did not respond, but said it “is aware of reports indicating that an uninvolved individual was harmed as a result of the strike targeting the terrorist, regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and makes every effort to minimise such harm.” The Israeli military said the incident was under review. On Tuesday, medical sources in Gaza reported an Israeli strike on al-Bureij refugee camp that killed an adult and a five-year-old child, identified as Udai al-Muridi. A pregnant Palestinian woman died on Saturday from injuries after being shot in the head by Israeli forces south of Khan Younis, according to her family and medical workers. The woman, named as Iman Shalouf, 27, who was nearly eight months pregnant, was sitting inside her family’s tent in the Mawasi area when Israeli gunfire struck her, according to paramedics and witnesses. The Israeli military said it had no information about the killing of the pregnant woman. According to Unicef, several other children have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in recent days, including two sisters aged six and 12, who were killed with their parents in an airstrike on Beit Lahia while they slept, and three other girls aged three, eight and nine, who were killed by gunfire. According to the territory’s health ministry, 1,369 Palestinians have been killed and 4,627 wounded since the fragile ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, at least 73,783 Palestinians have been killed and 174,738 wounded, according to health officials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions based on the provided topic
Beginner Questions
What happened in this specific incident
Witnesses say an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza and when people rushed to help the injured a second strike hit the same spot A child and a medic were killed
What is a double tap strike
It is when a target is hit once and then hit again shortly afteroften targeting the rescue workers medics or bystanders who arrive to help the first victims
Who was killed in this attack
A child and a medic were killed Witnesses say the child was killed in the first strike and the medic was killed in the second strike while trying to help
Where did this happen
It happened in Gaza
Who carried out the strike
The Israeli military carried out the strike Israel has not commented specifically on this incident but generally says it targets militants and tries to avoid civilian harm
Why is this story important
Because it shows how double tap strikes can kill not just the original target but also people trying to save liveslike medics and children
Advanced Questions
What exactly is the double tap tactic
It is a military tactic where a location is struck twice in quick succession The second strike is often timed to hit first responders medical teams or crowds that gather after the initial explosion
Is the double tap tactic legal under international law
It is highly controversial International humanitarian law requires distinguishing between combatants and civilians and prohibits attacks that target medical personnel or rescuers Many legal experts say double tap strikes can amount to war crimes because they deliberately target people who are not fighting
Why do witnesses say this was a double tap
Witnesses describe hearing a first explosion then people running to help and then a second explosion hitting the same area That patternstrike rescue second strikeis what defines a double tap
What did witnesses say they saw and heard
Witnesses say they heard a loud blast saw a child killed and then as a medic ran toward the scene a second blast killed the medic Some described people shouting Run Get away before the second strike
