Gaza Genocide07 September, 20263 min read
Israeli Strike Kills Eight-Year-Old Wafaa Akila and Father Youssef in Gaza
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Eight-year-old Wafaa Akila and her father were killed in a Gaza City car strike. The strike occurred on the first day of the new school year as families returned.
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Wafaa’s first day ends
An Israeli strike killed eight-year-old Wafaa Akila and her father in western Gaza on the first day of school for Wafaa, after their car was hit, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera said Israel claimed it was targeting a Hamas militant, while the New Indian Express reported that the vehicle was targeted by an Israeli military reconnaissance aircraft and that Wafaa was killed instantly. The New Indian Express added that casualties from the strike were taken to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the aftermath was shown in footage circulating after the incident.
SANA reported that Wafa Aqila, nine years old, and her father Youssef, 36, died after an Israeli drone hit a civilian vehicle on Al Shifa Street in the west of Gaza City, with both bodies arriving at Al Shifa hospital along with several other injured. SANA also said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem posted a photo of Wafa in her school uniform on Facebook and denounced her death in the attack, blaming Israel and criticizing the lack of an international response.
Claims, blame, and mourning
Al Jazeera framed the killing as part of Israel’s targeting of Hamas, saying Israel says it was targeting a Hamas militant, while the New Indian Express said the Israeli military said the strike was aimed at a Hamas militant. The New Indian Express reported that Wafaa Yousef Nabil Akila was due to turn nine on November 11, and that her death drew attention to the risks faced by civilians in Gaza, including children, amid continued Israeli military operations. SANA said the Israeli army had not provided specific information about this attack in the data supplied in the original briefing, and it described the scene as a symbol of difficulties Gazan children face in maintaining normalcy and continuing their studies amid conflict.
Al Jazeera included a direct account from the moment of loss, stating that Wafaa never made it home, and that she was killed on the first day of school for eight-year-old Wafaa Akila. SANA reported that images circulating on social media after the attack showed her books, notebooks, and other school supplies scattered at the attack site, with the backpack that should have accompanied her lying among the debris.
Education amid war
Beyond the strike, WAFA said around 846,000 Palestinian students returned to schools across the West Bank to mark the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, with enrollment across 2,537 public and private schools and schools run by UNRWA. WAFA reported that the Gaza academic year is scheduled to begin on September 16 with administrative and teaching staff returning on that date and students expected to resume classes on September 19, while the ministry prepared around 700 in-person learning points and 25 temporary schools. Daily Sabah said Israeli occupying forces raided two schools in the northern West Bank’s Nablus province on the first day of the 2026-2027 academic year, entering Huwwara Boys Secondary School and demanding the removal of the Palestinian flag.
Daily Sabah also said the new school year comes amid escalating attacks by the Israeli army and Jewish settlers across the occupied West Bank, including attacks affecting schools and other educational facilities. In Gaza, WAFA said the arrangements are expected to enable around 541,000 students to continue their education within available resources and prevailing conditions, even as the war-ridden enclave’s schooling remains constrained.