Testimony Date: 18 June 2025

Adel Hussein Mohammed Abu Shanab, 51 years old, married, father of five.

I live in a 140-square-metre house in Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, I have not left my home due to the lack of financial means, despite Israeli occupation forces dropping leaflets ordering us to evacuate the area. I have five adult children—three sons and a daughter who are married.

During the assault, we relied on aid from UNRWA and other organizations to meet our basic food needs. However, as the Israeli occupation prevented the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, our living conditions deteriorated significantly. I was forced to go to the aid point set up by the Israeli army near the Wadi Gaza Bridge. I went there four times since it was established around 18 days ago.

At around 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, 14 June 2025, I went with my sons—Wisam (24), Hossam (27), and Wasim (26)—along with my son-in-law Omar Kharouf (28) and several neighbours to the aid point in the Nitzarim area to try to get food. We walked approximately two kilometres through farmland north of Al-Nuseirat. There were about 15 of us. As we were just steps away from reaching the Wadi Gaza Bridge, we were suddenly fired upon from the north and east, where Israeli forces were positioned. Then, an Israeli quadcopter drone appeared and dropped two bombs on us, wounding most of the group with shrapnel.

I was injured by shrapnel myself. I tore my clothes to tie off the bleeding on my leg and hand. I looked at my son Wasim, who was motionless. He had been hit by shrapnel in the back and had died. My son Hossam was also wounded in his legs and back. We were in a dire state and were unable to carry Wasim’s body, so we left him at the scene and walked westward back to Al-Nuseirat, where we received treatment at Al-Awda Hospital.

At around 8:00 a.m., my son Wisam and my son-in-law Omar returned to retrieve Wasim’s body. They found some young men in the area and paid them to help carry his body. After completing the necessary procedures, we buried my son Wasim in the Al-Nuseirat Cemetery near Al-Qassam Mosque in the marketplace area.

Our pain is immeasurable. We left seeking just a little food to survive, and we returned wounded—with the lifeless body of my son.