On November 9, 2023, a toddler named Karam al-Souri was killed by an alleged Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. His body was taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital, where funeral prayers were also held.

The Quds Feed account on X/Twitter claimed that Karam was two years old at the time of his death, though the Palestinian Ministry of Health list indicated his age as one and listed his date of birth as 7 December, 2021. A video published by multiple news agencies, including Wafa News Agency, Al Jazeera, and Shehab News Agency, shows a man in an orange and black t-shirt carrying Karam’s small body. Karam, his head wrapped in thick white bandages, was dressed in a dark green jumper and pants. The man shouts angrily, “This boy is the one who did everything? He’s the one who shot the rockets!” sarcastically implying that a child could never be a legitimate target.

In another shot, an older man is seen carrying Karam’s body, now wrapped in a white shroud, while a woman beside him clings to him, both crying over the child. Someone in the background says, “He’s the only son of his father,” a phrase that typically means he was the only male child in the family.

At another moment, someone is overheard saying, ‘هذا نصيبه’, which translates to “This is his fate.” In Islam and Arab culture more broadly, there is a strong belief in divine predestination.

The video ends with a group of people gathered in prayer, Karam’s small body laid on the floor, covered in a white shroud.His name, “Karam,” signifies generosity in Arabic.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.

Karam was matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023 the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, Karam was matched to the second ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on January 7th, 2024.