On 7 December 2024, 50-year-old Raed Yousef Salem Abu Baid, a member of the Palestine Civil Defense, was reportedly killed by gunfire from an alleged Israeli drone while attempting to rescue an injured man from the entrance of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.

Footage shared by multiple sources shows multiple civilians attempting to rescue the injured person outside Kamal Adwan hospital before gunfire begins to rain down around them. It is unclear, however, if there were any other injuries as a result of the attack.

Shehab News Agency and other sources reported the attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, resulting in the death of Raed Yousef Salem Abu Baid. The Palestinian Civil Defense, via Facebook, mourned the loss of their officer, who they also claimed was hit by an Israeli drone. The post wrote that Raed had refused to leave northern Gaza and had stayed to help ambulance crews and medical staff at the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital to help them look after the sick and wounded.

According to Raed’s profile on the website Genocide in Gaza, he was 50 years old at the time of his death and he was married. Some sources, like Twitter/X user Qadeyah1 referred to Raed as a ‘Civil Defense major’ , while a Facebook post from Fadi Saber referred to him as a ‘Colonel in the Palestine Civil Defense group’. Airwars understands that the police units and infrastructure of civil defense are distinct from the militant wing of Hamas, which is participating in hostilities, and as such references to Colonel/Major have not been taken to suggest Raed was a party to this conflict.

Images shared by Raed’s son Salah Raed, as well as Facebook user  Arkan Abo Foiad and the website ‘Genocide in Gaza’ shared images of Raed in a Palestinian Police uniform and referred to him as an ‘officer’.

All references to Raed as a ‘colonel’, ‘major’, or ‘officer’ are directly related to roles in the Palestinian Civil Defense or Palestinian Police force, both of which hold civil roles and are not militant in nature. As such, Raed has been recorded unequivocally as a civilian. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Footage shared by Al Jazeera on Facebook reportedly showed the attack on the group at the hospital. In the footage, a number of bodies are visible on the floor outside the hospital, while one person is on a stretcher in the middle, and the group is trying to rescue them before loud and rapid gunfire begins. The gunshots are clearly targeting the group attempting to rescue the injured person, clipping the wall that they are attempting to shelter behind. In the video, one person appears to fall behind the wall during an outbreak of gunfire. It is unclear if this may have been Raed.

Raed’s sons posted on Facebook mourning the loss of their father. Salah Raed and Najwa Raid both posted that they were honoured to be the sons of Raed and sharing an image of him in a Palestinian Police (الشرطة الفلسطيتية) uniform. Salah signed the note off from Abdullah also, so it can be assumed that Raed was survived by at least three sons.

‘Genocide in Gaza’, a website that maintains a list of individuals reportedly killed by Israeli military action also referred to Raed as an ‘officer’ or ضباط, and shared an image of him in a Palestinian Police uniform. Arkan Abo Foiad shared the same image.

An account on Facebook named Mohammad Mohammad also shared a photo of Raed at Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.

Multiple sources made reference to Raed joining his brothers in death, who had previously passed away. Qadeyah1 via Twitter/X shared that Raed’s brother Mohammed was killed in 2003, while his other brothers, Abdul Rahim and Nasser, were also killed during the ongoing conflict with Israel that began on 7 October 2023.

The majority of sources attributed the attack to gunfire from an Israeli drone; however, one source, Genocide in Gaza, reported that it was an Israeli occupation aircraft that attacked the group of civilians.

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