A Palestinian grandfather in Gaza whose tribute to his slain granddaughter went viral last year was killed by Israeli fire on Monday, his family and a hospital said.
Khaled Nabhan drew global attention in a widely shared social media video of his moment of grief in November 2023, as he kissed his lifeless granddaughter Reem goodbye – the 3-year-old girl he called “the soul of my soul.”
“I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose and she would giggle,” he told CNN at the time. “I kissed her but she wouldn’t wake up.”
His grandchildren, Reem and 5-year-old Tarek, were killed while they were sleeping in their bed. Their home was brought down by what Nabhan said at the time was a nearby Israeli airstrike in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza.
Speaking to CNN following the strike, Khaled described his final evening with his grandchildren, breaking down in tears as he recalled how they begged him to take them outside to play. He had refused because of the danger from Israeli airstrikes, he said.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he was explicitly targeted. A bunch of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza had been explicitly identified for assassination over the last two years. And the Israeli “Lavender AI” military intelligence system is trained on social media to identify targets of opportunity.
With his name becoming high profile, he likely just got added to the kill list along with anyone else the Israelis considered a propaganda tool of the enemy.